The Time is Running Out Job
by Full Moon Productions
Summary: The Leverage team take on a unique job protecting an heiress, Charlotte Williams, from a band of assassins who want to have her eliminated, forcing her to stay with the team for protection. With each passing day, Charlotte seems more intrigued with Eliot Spencer and his past. Can an heiress make a hitter find serenity within his past? Based off the song 'Time is Running Out'
1. The Target

"I don't like this" Eliot Spencer said nearly 60 times once Parker and Alec Hardison joined him on the elevator. "We usually do business at the restaurant. It's only five blocks down the street from this place, why does the client want to meet here? Something is up-"

The elevator dinged at the top of the hotel, relieving Hardison and Parker from Eliot's complaint. The trio walked out of the elevator and searched the room.

"There he is" Parker pointed to a middle-aged man standing up at the site of them.

Parker and Hardison spent no time in crossing the distance to shake the hand of their new client. Eliot, on the other hand, chose to take his time and survey the crowd. It seemed calm, like any normal afternoon brunch in the buffet room, but something seemed a little off. His instincts thrummed, warning him to stay on guard.

"Thank you for coming" the man said in a hushed whisper.

Eliot nodded and then slowly sat down in the seat facing the room as his eyes continued to search. A waitress immediately came up and served him and his friends ice cold water.

"You seemed stressed over the phone" Hardison noted. "You probably already know what we do but you were very cryptic on wanting to meet over here. If you want us to work with you, you're going to have to trust us. We've had that sort of trouble in the past and don't wish to repeat it"

"I'm so sorry but this one is really urgent" the man still whispered as he nodded over his left shoulder. "You see that young woman sitting near the mirror pillar?"

The trio looked in unison at the young woman off to the distance. Almost instinctively, the woman laughed and looked over her shoulder showing her bluish- green eyes as she looked out at the sunlight. Her blonde hair went down just beyond her shoulders as she took a moment to regain her composure and turn back over to the young man sitting in front of her. She was clearly on a date.

"So it's that kind of job" Parker slowly nodded. "I'm sorry but we are not matchmakers"

Eliot watched carefully in the direction of the woman, normally, a beautiful woman like that would always catch his eye. But it wasn't her he was looking at; it was the man in front of her. The woman seemed to be having the time of her life talking to him but he seemed a little bit too stiff. He was listening to her but barely paying any attention to what she was saying, only the reflection of someone above her head.

Eliot straightened up as he suddenly realized why he, Parker, and Hardison were being brought here. This was no ordinary job, it was a hit. The young woman had something that this person valued. Something he would clearly kill for.

Hardison turned to talk to Eliot but then stopped as he noticed his friend's posture. He didn't have the background of a hitter but when someone like Eliot tenses up, it was not for a good reason. He slowly brought his hand over to Parker's knee and gave it a slight squeeze, making her stop talking. They both knew by then that this was a bad decision to come here.

The man nervously drank his water and fixed his tie as he scanned the room too. Parker followed his gaze and noticed a man that was dressed as a chief. The only problem was he was delivering hard blows to the meat on his cutter table. His eyes seemed transfixed on the woman that seemed to be of most interest.

The man had told Hardison and Parker that the woman's name was Charlotte Williams, an heiress to her mother's company once she retires. But this had nothing to do with Charlotte's mother; her father on the other hand had made quite a few enemies before he mysteriously died. It was rumored that no one knew the companies that were after the Williams fortune but him and Charlotte. Now that her mother was making plans on retirement, the man before them believed that it is the German and Irish that seemed to want to kill her off.

Parker and Hardison glanced over to Eliot to see where his tactics lie. He knew for a fact that the man sitting in front of Charlotte was not carrying a gun. Even though he knew from experience that shooting someone from under the table was most effective, he doubted this guy knew that. In fact, he believed that the man was just a bait to get her comfortable before the hit.

Sure enough, the man turned on a switch in his brain that made him almost too friendly to be human. He wiped his mouth and excused himself from the table, almost too happy to have left. Eliot gave only sides glance over to Hardison and Parker who both seemed to have gotten the message. He quickly got up and raced over to the other side of the room and stood in front of the young woman.

"Hi-"Eliot smiled.

"Hello"

"Don't take this the wrong way"

Charlotte gave Eliot a confused look, "Excuse me?"

Eliot quickly pulled the table onto its side and quickly brought Charlotte to the ground. She let out a scream but then heard a lot of gunshots ringing out in the building. Fright over took her as she realized that the gunshots were aiming at the table. The mysterious man who had thrown her to the ground was now using himself as a human shield between her, the table, and the string of bullets.

Charlotte let out another scream as she buried her face into the man's chest, almost surprised to hear his heart beating calmly. Everyone around her screamed as mirrors and dishes crashed as the sound of the guns firing was starting to hurt her ears. She wanted more than ever to run but her legs were too shaky. Charlotte felt so overwhelmed that she could possibly faint from the adrenaline rushing to her brain.

"Stay here!" Eliot yelled into the woman's ear.

"What!" Charlotte yelled out. "Where are you going?"

Eliot didn't answer, instead, he ran into the line of fire. He heard Charlotte yelling after him to come back but that would be the worst thing to do on his part. He charged head on until he tackled the nearest gunner into a small hallway. As the man tried to catch his breath Eliot started punching the man into his ribs, cracking them upon impact.

Charlotte watched both in horror and in awe as the man fought off one of the shooters. Where did these men come from? Who was the man that saved her? She blinked her thoughts back into control as she looked around the room; people had already left the floor.

She wondered to herself if she could possibly run over to the emergency exit and get out right now. Charlotte glanced back over to the mysterious man and noticed that he seemed to be having the upper hand in the hand to hand combat. She quickly brought herself up to her feet and ran over to the bright red sign, now her current favorite color and word. But before she could reach the door, her blind date turned the corner with a gun in his hand.

Charlotte let out a scream as he aimed it at her head. She backed up and then tripped over a fallen chair that made her fall onto a bunch of broken glass. When she looked up, she noticed the man had come up in front of her and was fighting her blind date off. The man flung the gunman to the wall, making him crash into it and render unconscious.

Eliot let out a few deep breaths as he checked a cut on the side of his arm. He looked down at his feet to see the woman tear stained and staring up at Eliot, not knowing how to process what just happened.

"Are you alright?"

"No" Charlotte let out in a whisper.

Eliot nodded and looked around, "We got to get out of here. More people will return"

Eliot lent out his hand to Charlotte to help her up. Charlotte didn't know what to say or do as of this point but she slowly reached out and took his hand.

"More people?" Charlotte repeated. "I don't know what you're talking about. Shouldn't we wait for the police?"

Eliot looked around the room, "Did they wait for the police? I'm afraid that the closest police on duty are the dirtiest. They are probably waiting for this kind of call"

"What are you talking about?"

Still not letting go of her hand, Eliot turned around and quickly went out into the emergency stairwell. He knew that both the client and his friends would be waiting in the restaurant.

"You were a hit" Eliot informed her. "Your dream man wanted you dead"

"What?" Charlotte nearly yelled out.

"Your parents company got into some sort of trouble" Eliot explained.

"Is my mother alright?"

"She's not the target"

"What are you-"Charlotte wanted to stop but Eliot kept on rushing down the stairs, forcing her to tag along. "I'm a target?"

"Your late father received a list" Eliot said. "People believe that you were there to witness it. That's why your mother is not a target. One of the workers had overheard an organized hit. They knew it was meant for you. He said that they have tried a couple of attempts on your life already. With your mother retiring they don't want you to come after the big groups once you are in power"

"But I don't know anything about a list" Charlotte confessed. "I have no idea what you are talking about"

"Try telling them that"

"But it's the truth"

"They don't care about truth" Eliot told her. "They care about a body. These people are assassins. Whoever hired them will bring back more. We need to get you to safety"

"Did you kill those men upstairs?"

"No"

"Why not!"

"Because that is not what I do"

"But you took on four men with guns" Charlotte responded.

Eliot opened the emergency door and peeked out into the alleyway. He didn't notice any sort of suspicious movement going on. He closed the door and quickly took off his jacket and draped it over Charlotte's shoulders and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Together they stepped outside and started walking over to the pub where his team mates were waiting.

"Keep your head low" Eliot whispered.

Charlotte obeyed but she just had to ask, "Where are we going?"

"To safety"

"Where is that exactly?" Charlotte then had another question pop into her mind. "Who are you? What's your name?"

_**Charlotte- Katie Cassidy**_


	2. Needed Protection

His name was Eliot Spencer. He had moved to Portland over a year ago with a couple of his friends. They help people who seemed to have these unimaginable problems that his team can over come. From what Charlotte gathered, it sounded like he just popped out of a Robin Hood story.

"About time! We were starting to get worried" a petite, blonde woman said once Eliot led Charlotte into the back of a restaurant. "Hardison hacked into the police radio station so the cops got there three minutes ago. We have footage of them going inside the building but nothing was communicated through the stations. They were definitely waiting for something to happen. These guys are not the usual Oregon Police"

Charlotte chose this time to take a look around the room and nearly gawked at the huge TV at the front of the room. Usually she would think a sports channel would be on it but instead there were some types of radio waves in one corner and camera footage of the buffet on the other side. It almost looked like a huge computer screen on display as another tall man came up to the screen and was busy typing in keys. She watched carefully as the footage stopped and a light green film scanned the police who first responded.

"Of course they aren't even on the database" the man mumbled as he joined Eliot and the blonde woman.

Charlotte looked over and let out a slight gasp as one of her father's best friends slowly came up to her, "Charlotte. Are you alright? You are not hurt are you? I promised your father that I would protect you with my life"

"I sort of knew that it was you who sent them, David" Charlotte hugged the man tightly to her.

The man let out a slight chuckle as her hugged her close to him. Ever since her father died, David has kept the family under a close watch in hopes that nothing will happen.

Charlotte had no idea that she had started to sob before she heard comforting words from the old friend as he rubbed her back. She had no idea why this was happening but she just wished that she could wake up and have this all be over.

"Don't worry, you can stay with me until all of this is over" David said once he broke the hug. "You will be safe there, Charlotte"

"Actually that's not a good idea, sir"

Charlotte looked over to the trio almost as if she completely forgot about them. What did they mean that it was a bad idea?

"These guys are professionals and most likely know where your house is" Eliot informed the pair.

"So what do you suggest that I do? Lock me up somewhere underground until this whole thing blows over? Put me in a vault?" Charlotte questioned.

Parker lit up to the sound of the word vault but Eliot immediately shot that theory down with a glare. He looked back over to the frightened woman cowering in David's arm. Eliot wanted more than ever to send her off with him in order for her to feel safe but he already knew that path he would be leading them on. The assassins would wait for those two to come home and go to sleep before brutally murdering them.

"You'll need to stay in a place that no one will ever think of finding you" Eliot said. "We can offer you protection here but you will have to trust us. I've had personal experiences with hitmen like this and know they will not give up. I've seen an assassin wait 15 years for his target to come out of hiding. These men are trained to sit and wait. You will have more of a chance of survival if you live here with us"

"The hell she can-"

"Shut up, Hardison" Eliot turned to him. "What would Nate and Sophie do?"

Hardison looked taken back by shock as Parker nervously bit her lip before smiling, "It'll be fun to have another female in the house"

"Won't they try to come after my mom?" Charlotte asked.

"You're mom's retirement is the reason they are after you. If they kill her then it will only speed up their own process" Hardison responded.

"So you say" Charlotte snapped back.

She turned and looked back at the big screen and dazed out at a picture of her mom, smiling and leaning on the front of her desk. Charlotte always thought that she was one of the most beautiful and powerful women in the world and that was what she admired about her. She wanted more than ever to pick up the phone and call her now and just hear her voice one more time but something inside of her told her that it would be too dangerous. Charlotte wondered if this was how her father must've felt when he drove home late that one night to see them.

"I know this is hard" a husky, southern voice interrupted her train of thought. "But if you don't accept our offer than you might be endangering your family and friends"

"Can you let Charlotte decide on her own?" David voiced out, irritably.

Charlotte looked over her shoulder and gazed into Eliot Spencer's piercing blue eyes that seemed to have penetrated right into her soul. His eyes showed the gentleness and caring of a man concerned but from within it looked like a war was waging inside of him.

"Can you guarantee that?" Charlotte asked. "That those men won't come after my family?"

"No" Eliot shook his head.

Usually, people would have wanted to hear a lie to better the situation. Charlotte on the other hand, felt some sort of openness around this man. He knew fully well of the dangers that was going on and how terrified Charlotte was but chose to tell her the truth anyways. The feeling felt refreshing to her in the most unusual way.

"Okay" Charlotte said. "I will stay then. Hopefully not for too long. If that's okay with you. I'm not stupid to know that this wasn't decided between the three of you"

"What happens if the assassins come here?" Hardison finally asked.

"Then we'll deal with them, Hardison" Eliot snapped back.

"I don't know how to 'deal' with assassins" Hardison responded.

Eliot turned around and shot his friend a look that often said to wait for a better time to argue about this topic. He wasn't afraid of these types of assassins but the main priority was to make sure that their client's request was safe.

Hardison looked over to Parker for help but he knew his girlfriend would do little to help him. She often complained about wanting to have another female co-worker to even out the balance.

"I'll get the guest room ready" Parker chirped up. "You can come over to our room and look through my clothes. They might be tight around you but at least it will be a start"


	3. Bickering Over Breakfast

The next morning, a big bounce came from the end of Charlotte's bed, making her jump up out of her sleep. Dazed and a little bit confused, she stared down at what she thought was the biggest duffel bag she has seen in her life.

"Good morning!"

"Good morning?" Charlotte said to the perky Parker. "What is this? What time is it? How long did I sleep?"

"It's only 11:30 in the morning, Charlotte. I decided to go on a little shopping spree for you" Parker bounced on the bed.

"A shopping spree for me? Where did you get the money?" Charlotte asked.

"I'm a thief, Charlotte. It's what I do best" Parker said with a big smile on her face.

"Don't you think it's wrong?" Charlotte asked as she looked down at the clothes. "People make their livings off of their customers. Don't you guys do that too? Isn't that why you guys changed?"

"We're allowed to have a few off days" Parker shrugged.

"Wouldn't Hardison get mad?" Charlotte asked. "He did seem pretty strict about the rules yesterday"

"He was the one who deactivated the metal detectors for me! Besides, those rules were for you" Parker snorted.

"He doesn't really like me does he?" Charlotte asked. "I'm a big burden to him"

"He's only trying to protect me and Eliot the way that Nate did" Parker sat up.

"Who is Nate? Why do you guys keep on bringing him up?" Charlotte asked.

"I'll meet you over at the table" Parker said hastily before she quickly left the room.

"Scrambled eggs and bacon?" Hardison was heard saying before Charlotte could even see the trio at their meeting room.

Eliot shook his head as he placed the tray down at a spare seat that the others hadn't taken up. Was it so wrong of him to not want to feed the same mouths over and over again?

Parker walked over with her bowl of cereal to the seat next to the breakfast tray and made herself comfortable. A low growl escaped from Eliot's throat making Parker look up, glare, and scoot over to the other chair.

"She had a rough day yesterday" Eliot answered back.

Hardison scoffed and made his way over to his usual seat and looked down at the empty space. He looked up and looked around the room and noticed that he didn't have breakfast for himself. When Hardison turned back around to Eliot, he noticed the man was already sitting down and eating his breakfast. Hardison cleared his throat loud enough and persistently until Eliot looked up to noticed that Hardison was nodding to his empty space.

"What? There's cereal right there!"

Hardison's mouth dropped as he looked over to his girlfriend for a response. But Parker would rather choose her bowl of cereal any day over Eliot's breakfast no matter how good it was.

"Now that's just messed up" Hardison finally said.

Charlotte couldn't help but smile as Hardison made his way over to the exposed cereal box on the counter. She couldn't help but notice that the three of them acted like a family. She clearly saw Eliot as the older brother and Parker as the baby sister which left Hardison as the emotional middle sibling whenever something didn't go his way. She actually wondered if those three had any family of their own or just leaned on each other for support?

When she was growing up, her mother was a principal at an all-girl school while her father was a travel agent. She often thought that her classmates were almost like her siblings but often felt like something was missing. Whenever it came to the middle of the semester, her classmates would often muse about going home and seeing their family. Charlotte often imagined having someone stay with her over the summer just to keep her company.

Charlotte blinked out of her state of mind and decided to finally make her own appearance. When she entered the room, Hardison only looked up and nodded a good morning. Parker turned all the way around, smiled, and waved at her. Eliot was the only one who actually spoke up once she came into the room.

"How are you?" he asked.

"I feel a lot better, Eliot" Charlotte said. "Still a little bit shaken up though"

"I trust that these guys were good at hospitality?" Eliot looked over to Parker and Hardison.

"They were great!" Charlotte quickly said. "I'm not sure I made a good guest though"

"Don't worry about it, have some breakfast" Eliot patted to the chair next to him.

"Yeah, that was supposed to be mine" Hardison mumbled.

"Make your own food!" Eliot snapped.

"You never trust me in that kitchen! You always worry that I might break something" Hardison complained.

"Because you always do" Eliot countered. "Remember the sink that you clogged up? Or what about the vegetables that you decided to burn out right in the middle of the dinner hours"

Charlotte cautiously made her way over to the seat and sat down, something told her that those two could fight until it was way past dinner time. She picked up her fork and took a bite out of her breakfast and nearly fainted. She thought that this was possibly the best scrambled eggs she had ever tasted in her life. No wonder Hardison was making such a big deal about it.

"It's good, right?" Parker suddenly asked.

"You have no idea. How did you learn how to cook like this?"

"A buddy of mine worked at a restaurant" Eliot smiled to her. "I'm glad you like it"

"_I'm glad you like it"_ came a mocking deep voice on the other side of the table.

"What's wrong with you? You act like a little child every time I don't feed you" Eliot said through gritted teeth.

"If you already knew that then why didn't you serve me breakfast? I bet she can't even eat all that" Hardison waved over to Charlotte's plate.

"You'll be surprised" Charlotte said. "I'll eat everything on this plate. What? You thought I was the kind of person who counts how many calories she eats?"

"I was hoping"

Charlotte looked over to Hardison and then laughed. The gesture took him by surprise and then a slight smile crossed his lips at the thought of her with some sort of calorie calculator.

"Sorry to disappoint you" Charlotte spoke up. "But I love food way too much. You'll just have to deal with it"


	4. Coming to Terms

If saying being under the protection of three young strangers was supposed to make things fun and entertaining for Charlotte, it didn't. For the first part, they were comfortable enough to talk to her but to even let her wander outside in the restaurant makes their hearts skip a beat. She roughly estimated that these few were around her age and would understand completely. She just completely forgot that they were doing their job in having her sleep in Parker and Hardison's house.

Charlotte sighed and closed the book she was reading and dazed out of the window. She honestly had never felt this bored unless it was those long and endless summer days at the boarding school.

Charlotte swooped her legs over to the side of the bed and left her room. Outside the sun broke through the clouds as if beckoning for her to go downstairs.

The first person she saw was Parker, the thief. She out of everyone seemed to be the one that thrusts the least responsibilities onto Charlotte. The two girls bonded very fast over chocolates and stuffed animals on the lazy days. But today it seemed like Parker was going to go undercover once again to figure out the mystery mark set on Charlotte.

Hardison appeared next to his big screen and started giving instructions to Parker about a building's equipment and technology. As the hacker, Charlotte felt like he had the coolest job out of the three but maybe it was because he boasted about always paying for his grandma's bills that way. She did find a little bit of a distraction with this man as he showed her countless web sites with loads of games on them but even those could be tiring. And for whatever reason, Hardison was the one who constantly threw stuff at her to keep her busy.

And that only left the one person that intrigued her the most, Eliot Spencer. Out of everyone, he seemed to be the one that was the most reserved about his past and wanted to keep it that way. Every time she hinted toward wanting to know his past he quickly puts up a shell around himself that's made of concrete. Even though it was a sign for her to back off, it only made Charlotte even more curious about him.

With quick and light steps, Charlotte crossed the small hall and opened the door to the main room. In the restaurant, the smells of the lunch menu wafted into her noise making her stomach growl.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to stay inside the back"

Charlotte felt her body stiffen as she slowly turned around and gazed up at the piercing blue eyes. Eliot stood directly behind her with his arms crossed and a towel over his shoulder.

Charlotte nervously bit her lip looking for an excuse but something told her that Eliot has heard it all. Instead, she just sighed and decided to say what was on her mind.

"You guys treat me like a prisoner. Isn't it supposed to be the exact opposite of that?" Charlotte asked.

Eliot studied her eyes for a moment before nodding over to a spare table right next to them. Together they sat down and Eliot surveyed the crowd once again. No one seemed to have noticed Charlotte or even knew she existed. That seemed to have settled his nerves only a little bit.

"You were supposed to be killed five days ago" Eliot said in a husky, southern-accented voice. "No doubt the main boss has already heard by now. Having you even staying so close to the hit site is very dangerous and a stupid move to keep you here"

Charlotte leaned back in her chair and looked down at her nails. She never really thought about the closer she was to her supposed death site, the more in danger she was.

A shudder passed through her as she realized something that Eliot had just said. She was supposed to be dead five days ago. Her life would've been nothing if it wasn't for the Leverage team to be at the right place at the right time. She owed them her life.

But the more she thought about it, the more she wanted freedom. Even if it was only five days of staying inside the back of the restaurant.

Charlotte then sat up straight and looked around the room. When her gaze went back to Eliot, she gave him a hopeful smile.

"Then let me work as a waitress here" Charlotte suggested.

"Charlotte! Did you not just hear what I said?" Eliot asked.

"But I have to do something"

"Stay hidden"

"But if you let me work as a waitress, I will be around you. You will have a constant supervision over me" Charlotte explained.

"That is the worst idea. I can't cook food and protect you at the same time" Eliot told her. "What if they come in here?"

But that was the reason that Charlotte was trying to get at. If the restaurants hours were in session and the assassins came in through the back door, there was no way Eliot would have been able to save her. If Eliot hired her and let her be a waitress then they would at least be in the same room together. Not only will Eliot be able to answer to any threats first but Charlotte would also feel safe around him.

Eliot looked around the room but this time over at the waiters and waitresses. He did have to admit that they were in few of number right now.

It was summer time and everyone wanted to leave Portland as fast as they can. No one can stand the gloomy weather when it's supposed to be full of warmth and sunshine.

"Just give me one day. If you don't like it, then I will stay in the back forever"

Eliot let out an irritated sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. He thought Parker was the difficult one but Charlotte will soon take the crown on that one.

"This is way too risky. A lot is already being at stake right now. By rights, you shouldn't even be here"

"But I am whether you like it or not. Wouldn't it be better that you can see me all the time?"

"I am not your bodyguard"

"No, but you are a hitter"

Eliot quickly made a shushing sound and looked around the room. Not a lot of people knew the term 'hitter' but very few knew exactly what it meant. This meant that it could mean trouble for him and Charlotte. He looked back over to the naïve woman in front of him and studied her for a long time.

He didn't want anything bad to happen to her or else he would never forgive himself. Something about her seemed to draw out a feeling in the atmosphere. Eliot could almost sense that it was purity but he could easily be mistaken. All he really knew was that this one was not your typical spoiled heiress.

"Don't mention that title in public ever again"

Charlotte blinked back in surprise at his comment. He almost seemed scared of people knowing that title.

"We only just need people to tie in the loose ends of them knowing who is protecting you" Eliot finished.

"The people who tried to kill me know you?"

Eliot looked into Charlotte's eyes as she looked back at him full of wonder. Not the innocent wonder, but the wonder of whether to make a run for it or not.

Eliot looked down and slowly took the small white, empty tea cup into his hands. He gazed into it as he tried to calm his past from resurfacing. He took in a deep breath as some people's terrified faces appeared before they all just turned into the same dead expressions over and over again. Eliot looked up and noticed that Charlotte had scooted closer onto her seat until she was leaning on the table also.

"Most likely" he answered. "But it is not by choice, I will give you that. Before I met the group, I was on the wrong side of the tracks"

Eliot was about to start again but then felt something warm and soft on his hand. He looked down and noticed Charlotte's hand was resting on top of his. He slowly took his grip off of the cup and held Charlotte's hand in his and stared down at it. He looked up and stared into her eyes before continuing what he was going to say.

"I used to be like those men after you" Eliot finished.

Charlotte did a sharp intake of breath as she felt her hand loosen in his grip. She couldn't possibly imagine Eliot standing over her with a gun. Every time she tried to, the image of him standing with his hand outreached to her filled her mind. There was no way that Eliot was a cold-blooded killer.

"Eliot" Charlotte nearly whispered.

"That is why you can't be out here" Eliot said. "We will make it too easy for them to piece together"

"I would feel safe around you"

"Feeling safe and being safe are two separate things. I would feel much better if you just stayed in the back" Eliot told her. "Before they start coming into here"

Charlotte was about to say something but then remembered where her hand was. Right in his.

"Your safety is what matters to David" Eliot told her.

Charlotte took her hand out of his and placed it on her lap. She looked around the room at the busy lunch hour. What she saw were people rushing around and trying to keep others satisfied. She saw no place of a threat.

"Eliot, what happens if the assassins come in through the back and I am in there?" Charlotte questioned.

Eliot took in a deep breath as he thought about that incident. He never put that into perspective but it was also a possibility. What if Eliot was cooking and the band of men did come in through the back? He knew fully well that Hardison and Parker wouldn't last a minute against men like Eliot.

He thought of Hardison and Parker as his little siblings that he needs to protect. Sophie had made him promise to her that he would never let them get hurt. Would it be his fault if the men did actually find their way into Parker and Hardison's home? What would it mean for Charlotte?

"Fine"

"What?"

"We will see how this goes" Eliot regrettably said.

"Are you serious?"

"Unfortunately"

"When do I start?"

"Tomorrow" Eliot looked around the room. "I'll need Hardison to set up more techs around this place"

"More technology?"

"It's either that or you don't get out at all"

"Fine with me then"

"You will only work on weekends for now. From 1:30 until 5" Eliot instructed.

"What?"

"Until I feel it is safe enough to extend your hours" Eliot told her. "You are lucky that tomorrow is Friday. This chance won't come by again, alright? If you break one rule that Hardison or I laid on you then it's back to the back. Don't even try to sneak out or else I will have Hardison make a house arrest bracelet for you. Understood?"

"Those things are ugly!"

"Finally! I was beginning to wonder if you really were an heiress or not. Thank you for pointing that out for me"

Charlotte was about to say something but then a chef yelled out Eliot's name, making him turn to look at the woman calling him. Instead, she just glared daggers into the man's head and wished he could shave off the brown hair. Charlotte bit back her tongue in fear that her remark might send her back to the imprisonment of TV sitcoms. Eliot turned back to her and then got up from his seat to leave back to work.

"Get in the back, Charlotte. I will see you out here 1:30 sharp tomorrow" Eliot mentioned as he disappeared back into the chef's kitchen.


	5. Different Paths

"Charlotte! It was so nice to meet you! I really hope to have the same shift as you soon! I'll see you around and tell Parker and Hardison I say hi!" Amy said. "It was so fun working with you. You just made this day go by so fast. Have a good night!"

Charlotte smiled and waved as the Indian-American woman left the building. She sighed and walked over to the nearest table and started wiping down the table with a washcloth. Outside, the sound of distant cars drove by outside, casting an occasional glow inside the pub. Inside, the only few sounds was of dishes clashing and people chatting.

Eliot wiped down the counter and glanced up at the young woman cleaning up the tables. She didn't feel his eyes on her but a delicate smile crossed her lips as she put a strand of hair behind her ear. Most people would've been tired after working a tough shift as she did for her first day but something about her made the rush of the day all the better to face. Eliot knew she would make her mother proud once the woman retires and Charlotte takes over.

Charlotte picked up a bin and started walking over to each table and started placing in teacups and utensils. She heard a distant laughter that made her perk up her ears and turn around to the kitchen to see Eliot laughing with one of the cooks. Eliot slapped the man's shoulder and continued to joke around as Charlotte looked on and wondered what his life was like before he found his calling with food. Eliot turned around and glanced up at Charlotte which made her drop her gaze and walk off over to the remaining tables.

"Alright! I'll see you tomorrow!" the man said as he passed Charlotte. "Don't stay here for too long, alright? The boss might make you stay until morning! Take care of yourself"

"I heard that!" Hardison said as he walked back over to the back.

Charlotte watched as the man just gave a teasing remark to Hardison before he left. Parker was sitting not that far away as she counted the money that was in the cashier. Closing time was that woman's favorite part of the day only because she got to count, sniff, and store the money into a vault. Everything must've been there because a satisfied grin crossed her lips as she picked the small machine up and moved over to the office.

Hardison was on his iPad once again, which both could mean a very dangerous thing or a good thing. No one really knew what he was doing on his little equipment, only just that his world of technology would constantly be around him. Charlotte wanted to think on the simpler of terms that he was only checking who was going to show up for work tomorrow. Or that he was trying to get every criminal record on his staff that he could find.

Charlotte turned back to the window and saw her reflection and stared at that woman for a while. Normally, she would be wearing high heels, hair curled down her shoulders, and the latest Gucci bag in her grasp. Now, she was wearing a grey t-shirt, hair tied up in a ponytail, and a bin in her hands. She didn't mind the drastic change but something inside her seemed to have shifted, making her confused on which woman she was born to be.

"So how did you like it?" a voice said right next to her.

"What?"

"Your first day" Eliot smiled to her. "You seemed a little bit distracted. Almost like as if you were in some kind of zone"

She didn't know why, but Charlotte started to blush after that comment. She looked away and cleared her throat as she fiddled with one of the napkins inside of the bin. Eliot felt his smile deepen as he crossed his arms over his chest and waited for her reply. Seeing her squirm under his gaze seemed to have enlightened him in some way.

"My mom always trained me to become a business woman" Charlotte began. "I've wanted so much to practice those skills and this pub was the first thing that came to mind once I got here. I wish she was here to have seen me and commented on what I should be doing differently"

"I think you were doing just fine. Better than Hardison actually" Eliot confessed.

"I didn't mean it as by taking his job" Charlotte shook her head. "My family has my fate set on running the family business"

Eliot picked up on a key word and noticed the subtle changes of Charlotte's body language. She was stiff and glanced out of the window as if expecting someone to be standing out there.

"I'm sure they didn't know about those people. Your father would've shut down his mission long before it started if he knew you were in danger"

"Everything would've been different if he hadn't died in that car crash. I would've been safe from all of this" Charlotte looked around the room but then stopped. "But then I would've never met any of you"

"It's better to not regret something that you can't change. I never did" Eliot told her before he turned and left her standing alone by the booth.


	6. Honest Mistake

Charlotte flipped the page of a book and read on an armchair one Wednesday afternoon. Hardison and Parker were on a date while Eliot was in the kitchen, of course. Moments like these she wished that she had a lot more to do or have Eliot come in asking for some assistance in the pub. None of that happened, of course, because that would mean that she's a guest and not the heiress they are trying to protect.

The scent of delicious meat passed around her nose, making her stomach instantly growl and her mouth water. Restaurant rush hours always made it difficult to live in the back sometimes.

Charlotte looked up to the blacked out screen and noticed a tall man standing behind her. She let out a gasp and threw herself to the floor before looking up to see the intruder.

Eliot let out a slight chuckle as Charlotte glared at him, "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I just wanted to see what you would do. You-"

"How long have you been standing there? You know as a protector, you seem to be doing one hell of a job! Scaring people shouldn't be on the top of your list" Charlotte got up and brushed her pants off. "What are you doing back here?"

"I'm on my lunch break" Eliot replied.

"You never come back here to eat, Eliot" Charlotte told him.

Eliot gave a pleasant smile and nod as he placed down the two plates. One of them had steak and mashed potatoes on it while the other had pasta. As much as Charlotte wanted to be angry with him, the smell and temptation of food was overwhelming. She let out a defeated sigh and walked over to the other side of the table and sat next to him.

"That's because Hardison and Parker are finally out of the house" Eliot said.

"You know, that's not very nice" Charlotte replied.

Eliot let out a chuckle as Charlotte took a bite into her pasta and felt it melt inside her mouth. She tried her best to keep her composure around him but she never seems to get used to the food.

"You have only been here for nearly a week; I had to be around them for five years"

Charlotte gave a slight nod in agreement as Eliot took a remote out of nowhere and turned the screen on to a TV. She gave a look out from the corner of her eye at Eliot's strong arms, his shoulder length hair, and those piercing blue eyes. Charlotte quickly dropped down her gaze and spun her fork into the noodle as he found a channel they can both decide on. She didn't realize that Eliot was talking to her until she felt him nudge her, sending a wave of emotion fluttering through her.

"What?" Charlotte looked up at the channel and nodded. "Oh yes, this channel's fine"

Eliot studied her once again and noticed all of the movements that Sophie had once told him to look out for. He didn't need a grifter to tell him that Charlotte was starting to have feelings for him. The only problem was he was assigned to protect her. Not fall for her.

"I was talking about the food. I asked if you liked it" Eliot repeated.

"The food is awesome!" Charlotte let out.

Eliot looked over to the screen, "And sure! If you want to watch info-mercials then that's fine by me. I just don't think that those phone numbers are going to be in business right now"

"Then change it" Charlotte retorted.

"What's up with you today?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You seem a bit off" Eliot told her.

"Sorry" Charlotte shook her head. "There are a lot of things on my mind right now"

Charlotte forced herself to take a mouthful of food, not because it will please Eliot but because she won't be able to talk. She knew what she did was wrong and if Eliot, Hardison, or even Parker found out, they would kill her. She only wished that this little white lie could have gone on for a little while longer. She never expected it to get discovered so quickly.

"How can a lot of things be on your mind?"

"Because I am being held captive" Charlotte shrugged. "I don't have that much to do anyways. You guys are mostly gone for a long strand of time and I'm just trapped here"

"What did you do?"

"Excuse me?"

"You did something"

"No, I didn't" Charlotte lied. "What could I possibly be doing here? I just told you that I am trapped. You guys leave me with no one to talk with. You guys leave me alone to eat ice-cream, watch baseball, and watching kites float around from the park all day. Wouldn't you go insane after that?"

"You contacted someone, didn't you?" Eliot asked with fear in his eyes.

"I didn't mean to at first. I was lonely!" Charlotte quickly said. "I needed someone from my past to talk to. You don't know how many times in a day that I get scared for my own life. Whether or not I'm going to see my family again. I have never been trained to stay still. I have never been trained to do anything! You don't know how much all of this terrifies me!"

"Please tell me that you didn't tell them where you were"

"I didn't have to"

"What do you mean?" Eliot asked.

"They already know where I am"

"Are you kidding me?"

"I didn't say anything!" Charlotte let out. "I swear!"

"No… but Hardison just makes it so obvious on where he wants to make his new hideout" a voice said from behind Eliot, making him turn around to see someone that he honestly did not think he would see again.


	7. Spotlight

Eliot watched as Charlotte ran over to the older woman and embraced her in a long hug as Eliot looked on. He knew he thought that Charlotte looked slightly familiar but could never pinpoint where he might have seen a resemblance. He was too afraid to think that maybe he had killed one of Charlotte's family members a long time ago. He never thought that Charlotte could be related to Tara, the stand in grifter for Sophie a couple of years ago.

"Never thought I would see you here" Eliot said. "How did you know we were in Portland? Did Sophie tell you?"

Charlotte looked between her Aunt Tara and Eliot as she realized that they knew each other. But she also did realize that they used one of the names that the three desperately try to avoid.

"From my sister" Tara replied. "She wanted me to check in on Charlotte"

"You realize that they could've followed you here"

"Please! I would like to see them try. Eliot, you guys couldn't even track me after I left you guys in Boston" Tara smiled.

"But you are willing to risk your niece's life, Tara? Seems pretty reckless, even for you" Eliot quickly responded before glancing over to Charlotte to fill her in. "Your aunt was a part of this group for some time"

"Aunt Tara, you never told me this" Charlotte turned to her aunt.

"That's because whenever people meet Eliot Spencer, they don't live to tell the story" Tara replied.

Charlotte was about to come in on Eliot's defense but then stopped herself as she remembered what he told her once. He hinted at her that he might know the assassins from a different part of his life. Charlotte glanced over at the man and noticed the same tortured look that he carries when he's usually thinking of the past. What if Eliot hadn't turned a leaf in his past and he was the one sent out to kill her?

Tara took this time to take off her raincoat and make her way over to the bar table that Eliot and Charlotte were sitting at earlier. Her aunt didn't even waste time as she picked up a fork and started to twirl it in the pasta. Eliot met the gaze of Charlotte and quickly cast his eyes down, almost like as if he was ashamed of something. If Charlotte would have known this was going to happen, she wouldn't have agreed to let her aunt come near this place.

Eliot should've been able to piece the missing pieces together; Tara did bring herself out as a powerful and authoritative woman just like the one that Charlotte was so desperately trying to be. They both had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a voluptuous figure. They even both had the same deep sultry voice that gets Tara far into the cons that the team had her on. Now seeing the two sitting side by side only made himself wonder how could he ever be so stupid.

"How is mom?" Charlotte asked. "Is she okay?"

"Terrified" Tara replied. "But getting through it"

"Does Sophie know you're here?" Eliot asked.

"She and Nate have been off the radar ever since they left Portland" Tara answered back.

"Who are Sophie and Nate?" Charlotte felt like she asked at least 50 times already.

"We'll save that for another time" Tara replied.

"Do you know who's after Charlotte?" Eliot asked.

"Not really, no" Tara answered.

"How can you not know?" Eliot demanded.

"Because I was never part of their business" Tara snapped back.

"But you are close with your sister, right?" Eliot demanded.

"Almost like as if we were twins" Tara said slowly.

"Then how could you not know who is after your own niece?" Eliot said with dripping venom in every single word.

"Please stop fighting" Charlotte pleaded.

"Because they have too many enemies" Tara said. "That is the reason why I came back, to protect Charlotte from people that you three would never suspect. There are some things that you, Charlotte, never knew about our family and that's why I am here"

"What are you talking about?" Charlotte asked slowly.

"The reason why your family has so much money?" Tara started. "The reason why people want your head on a silver platter? It's because both of your parents were the greatest grifters of our time. Normally, grifters work alone; it's much better that way. But there was something about those two being together that just made them a complete threat to anyone they set eyes on. That list that everyone thinks you saw is the name of dirty white collared grifters that your father wanted to put an end to. I was more than ready to go down there and raise hell with him but there was one thing that was stopping us. You, Charlotte. We didn't want to risk having them find you and use you as some sort of influence over us"

Charlotte looked up to Eliot and then sighed, "Too late"


	8. Second Generation Grifter

"I can't believe you're Tara's niece" Parker said again. "I mean, you look like her, but at the same time, you kind of don't. That's kind of weird"

"Yup, small world. Aren't you going to go back down there?" Charlotte asked.

Charlotte looked down from the top of the staircase at Tara, Hardison, and Eliot. Tara had been telling them the list of enemies that her parents might have who would want to end her life. Parker had only been inside the secret meeting for about 30 minutes before finally breaking away from the crowd to join Charlotte. No offense to her new found friend but Charlotte felt like she wanted more than ever now to be left alone.

"It's actually kind of cool how you're a second generation grifter" Parker continued.

Not to Charlotte, it wasn't. She just found out that everything her parents had done was a lie. She thought that the first time her parents saw one another was on a business trip vacation. Now she wondered if they were just grifting and so happened to bump into one another.

"My life was nothing but a lie" Charlotte said.

"Charlotte" Parker nudged her friend with her shoulder. "Didn't your aunt say that your parents stopped grifting right when they found out your mom was pregnant?"

"Yes-"

"So it wasn't really a lie. At least you had parents that wanted to change their world for you" Parker looked down at her nails. "Be grateful that you at least had a family while growing up"

"I'm sorry"

No one really knew what happened in Parker's childhood that made her go into foster care. Not even Hardison knew about her past since she kept it so well hidden. Charlotte thought she saw the blonde petite wipe at her eyes as she gazed down at the grifter, hitter, and hacker still discussing moves. Charlotte noticed that when Hardison looked up, Parker immediately turned her head to face Charlotte instead of him.

"Don't worry about it" Parker sniffed. "Things happen for a reason, right?"

Charlotte did notice that Parker's eyes were glittering with tears but she chose not to comment about it. Parker already had a bad time opening up to people as it is.

Charlotte turned and looked back down at her aunt as she looked like she was instructing the others about some businessman on the screen. Would Parker's biological aunt have come to help her out if Parker was ever in danger?

"I'm happy she's here" Charlotte finally said.

"Yeah, we kind of need a veteran around here" Parker noted.

"You're right" Charlotte nodded. "I do feel kind of bad ass now that I heard about grifting. It kind of makes me think that my aunt, dad, and mom were sort of spies. Well, spies in their own rights. But I don't know a thing about grifting. The only thing I was trained to do was run a company"

How was that going to help her? Charlotte was sure that if she was face to face with this sort of task then her poker face would fail. She didn't even know how to play poker so how was she going to be straight faced the whole time? She would put a shame on her family's grifting name.

"But that is exactly like grifting!" Parker exclaimed.

At the word 'grifting', Tara looked up and met her gaze with Charlotte. The corners of her lips turned into a smile before she turned back to what Hardison was saying.

"How so?"

"You have to convince a company into investing and becoming your partner, right?" Parker asked.

She did. Her mother had told her to win a crowd over she had to speak both calmly and with much enthusiasm. Charlotte remembered how her mother said to walk around the room slowly and study each face to see who likes your idea and who doesn't. Was her mother talking about the company or was she teaching Charlotte how to grift?

Parker noticed the wheels in Charlotte's head were starting to turn. A big smile formed on her face as she thought of how proud Sophie would've been to hear about this. But then reality came flooding back into the young thief as she remembered how no one has seen them since they moved out of Portland. The names Sophie and Nate were completely dead as far as it being in the computer system.

"Was she good?"

"Who? I've never met your mom on a job before" Parker then noticed that Charlotte was gazing at her aunt. "Oh, your aunt was one of the best! She did like to use her body in order to get what she wanted though"

Charlotte smiled, shook her head, and rolled her eyes. It sounded just like her aunt though, she had to admit. Whenever there was a party and she was invited, she would always be followed by a lot of pursuers. Aunt Tara was especially good at making five men buy something for her at any auction that they could find.

"Of course she would" Charlotte said.

"I remember one time she made a guy get us a hotel room because she was naked. Could you believe that! Sophie would never have done that"

Charlotte turned to Parker with a disgusted look as she tried her best not to think how that scenario went down. Parker then noticed her mistake and pretended to lock her lips shut.

The two girls resumed into staring at the big screen from afar as the three downstairs voted out anyone with an assassin worthy pursuit. One by one, the images of big bosses started to fade and new ones appeared. There couldn't be that many people that wanted Charlotte dead. Was she be wanted to be buried into the ground that much?

"Parker, how many slides did they burn through?"

"Eight"

Charlotte took in a deep breath as she noticed that her eyes started to wander over to Eliot. Could that man really kill an army for her?

A blush suddenly rose to her cheeks as she noticed what she was thinking about. She heard of the term 'fight for you till the death' but never thought that anyone would fight for her, or look as handsome as Eliot did while doing it.

Parker looked over to Charlotte and did a double take before realizing that the woman wasn't listening to her. She followed her gaze until it landed on the hitter of the group. So there was something growing in between them. Parker wondered if it was just her mind going crazy but it seems to her that Charlotte's lovesick gaze proved everything.

Eliot looked up to the top floor and met his eyes onto Charlotte's whom he felt was staring at him for a long time. His mind was telling him that this was his job, he was supposed to protect Charlotte, and on top of that, she was Tara's niece. But it seemed like whenever he was talking to her, all of his dark secrets come out and just when he thought he was scaring her, she comes around for more. Eliot quickly turned back to the screen and pretended he was listening to what Hardison was saying the whole time.

"How long did it take for you to open up to Hardison?" Charlotte asked.

"It wasn't until about a year ago but we're still working on it. I never knew this guy was so patient just for me"

Charlotte smiled and looked at Parker. Hardison had waited for nearly five years until Parker decided to let her guard down for the first time.

"Did you think his feelings would go away?" Charlotte asked.

"Yes and no"

"What do you mean?"

"I wanted them to go away but then again, I liked the attention that he was giving me" Parker smiled.

Charlotte looked back over to Eliot, "Doesn't everyone? The attention is what keeps it alive for so long"


	9. Leaving So Soon?

The next morning, Charlotte opened the bathroom door just as she was running her hair through the towel. She took a glance over to one of the rooms but then stopped dead in her tracks. In one of the guest rooms was her aunt Tara, but it appeared to look like her aunt was packing stuff into her bag. Charlotte walked into the room and watched like a little kid as Tara gave her a glance but continued to pack.

Why was she leaving when she just arrived? Did something happen to her mother? Was she going to find Nate and Sophie for more help? Did they need any more help?

"Something's not right" Tara said like as if she just read Charlotte's thoughts. "I need to leave Portland for a couple of days to figure out what. I won't be gone for more than 15 days"

Charlotte moved to protest but nothing came out of her mouth. She wanted her aunt to be here more than anything but she really couldn't argue with the woman. But what if she doesn't come back? What if the man that wants Charlotte dead will kill Tara?

A shudder passed through her spine as her tears welled up inside of her eyes. She didn't want her aunt to go anywhere but stay with her. Charlotte wanted to learn how to grift, to do something instead of just sit here. This could probably be her only chance.

"What happens if you don't come back?" Charlotte asked, making her aunt stop. "What if they figured out that you're helping them?"

"They don't know anything about the Leverage team" Tara said to her niece.

She always loved her aunt's confidence but sometimes it could be mistaken for pride. It angered Charlotte how Tara could feel that confident that the assassins don't know anything about the Leverage team. Just sitting and waiting was like waiting for a bomb to go off right next to you. One little step and then everything could be lost… in that case it meant Charlotte's life.

Charlotte blinked back tears and looked at the shelves of books lined up on the wall. Most of the books looked like antiques and only there for decoration. Did Hardison only put them there just to look homely or did he actually read them? Could anyone read a book that was worn and washed out over time?

"We can't lose you"

"I will be back"

"At least take someone with you" Charlotte argued.

"Like Eliot? I doubt you would want him to leave anywhere too" Tara answered back.

Charlotte turned to her aunt so quickly that she thought she kinked her neck, "What are you talking about? I was suggesting anyone, not just him"

"No, so you don't have feelings for him?" Tara asked.

"No" Charlotte said. "He's my protector and only doing his job. There are no feelings involved"

Tara let out a chuckle as she zipped up the bag and adjusted the straps. Charlotte nervously bit her bottom lip as she realized that she was talking too much.

"Keep telling yourself that" Tara nodded.

"I'm the only one that seems to be having feelings" Charlotte said in a low voice. "Every time I get sort of close to Eliot, he just pushes away. He puts up a stone wall that no one can climb"

"Charlotte" Tara said. "You can always go under the stone wall if you can't get over it"

"What are you, Confucius?" Charlotte teased.

"No, but the grifting I do best in is making people fall for me" Tara explained.

"And you think I have a chance?" Charlotte asked. "To break down the walls and see the inside of Eliot? How do I even do that?"

Tara only smiled, slipped the strap over her shoulder and kissed Charlotte's head. As she walked over to the hallway, the aunt turned around and pointed at her gut before winking and leaving the room. Eliot stood in the hallway with his arms crossed as Tara approached him. The smile she had on her face only proved to him that she knew the hitter was standing in the hall the whole time.

"Be good to her" Tara said as she passed the man.


	10. Bitter Sweet Symphony

It's been nearly a week and no sign of Tara, each day without her inside of the pub made Charlotte fear for her aunt's life. She's never known this side of her aunt before but she only wished that she was as good as she looks. Breathless and fists hurting, Charlotte pounded her frustration out on a punching bag that she found near the back of the house. She was trying to get herself used to throwing her fists out in front of her in case anything just might go wrong.

"You're hopping around like a little chicken. Do you honestly think that you could last 15 seconds with one of the guys that you saw at the buffet?"

"It's better than lasing 5 seconds"

Eliot walked over and stood next to the punching bag, "You're fighting like you're in a movie"

"So I have a chance against Matt Damon?" Charlotte asked.

"This isn't a game" Eliot shook his head. "Those guys can hurt you if you ever think about going up against them"

"So teach me"

"That's not a good idea" Eliot objected. "It took me years to master everything that I know"

"So teach me the basics" Charlotte countered.

"I can't" Eliot shook his head. "I don't want to hurt you. Practicing takes a lot of will power and strength to overcome the pain of just being a beginner. That's not what I was hired for anyways. Not to-"

"What if they kidnap me?" Charlotte asked. "How would I defend myself if you don't teach me?"

Eliot crossed his arms over his chest and heaved out a sigh. As much as he didn't want to think about her being kidnapped under his watch, he had to think of all of the possibilities.

She was right at least. He may not be able to teach her to kill a guy but he can sure as hell make sure she can hurt him enough to get away.

"I have a lot of things to do as it is"

"What, like being in the restaurant?" Charlotte motioned over to the door. "Why aren't you there now?"

"You seemed stressed" Eliot said.

"And why wouldn't I be?" Charlotte asked.

Eliot bit back his tongue from letting his temper show, "I thought you wanted to talk to someone"

"I want someone to teach me how to fight" Charlotte took a step closer to Eliot.

"I already gave my answer"

"And I'm not giving up until you change your mind"

"These people will be a lot more trained then you ever will be" Eliot tried again.

"You don't think I know that, Eliot?" Charlotte asked. "These guys will think that my only defense will be my cell phone. I will catch them by surprise if I at least knew how to break their nose properly. You can keep me alive long enough to find me again"

"I won't let that happen. These guys will have to kill me in order to take you back" Eliot objected.

"Don't say that!" Charlotte said defensively.

Eliot let out a long breath, "I'm sorry"

Charlotte avoided his gaze as she looked back over to the punching bag. She didn't want to think of herself screaming Eliot's name at the top of her lungs while he lay in a pool of blood around the men in black. She wanted to think that she can hit one man to the ground, run off and at the end of the hall was Eliot with open arms. She would hug him tightly and maybe even cry knowing that she was safe.

"I don't want to think that it might come to that" Charlotte said quietly.

Eliot looked over to Charlotte and noticed that her gaze was still nowhere near his face. He thought that making her terrified of not wanting to fight would be more effective but he noticed now that she was scared for his life.

"Okay"

Charlotte looked up to Eliot, "What?"

Eliot gave her a small nod, making her squeal and jump into his arms. He took a sharp intake of breath before slowly wrapping his arms around her. Charlotte was still elevated in the air as she felt his big arms slip around her tiny waist. She hoped that her cheeks were still flushed from fighting the punching bag in order to know that she wasn't blushing.

"We'll start after closing time" Eliot told her.

"Fine by me, I'll see you tonight" Charlotte beamed.


	11. Short & Sweet

"That's enough for today" Eliot said breathlessly.

As much as Charlotte didn't want to obey Eliot, her arms dropped down to her sides in exhaustion. She glanced up and noticed that it was almost past midnight which meant that they spent more than two hours fighting. Eliot seemed to have grown used to training Charlotte how to fight in the last couple of days to the point that if he accidentally hits her, he won't stop the training for the sake that she might have broken something. Charlotte did have to admit that being hit by someone as strong as Eliot did hurt a lot but she has to learn how to take a hit and still fight back in return.

"How was I?"

"Better than last time"

Charlotte gave him a glare, "You always say that"

"Maybe because it's true" Eliot countered.

"Eliot, tell me something else" Charlotte said. "I'm sick and tired of hearing the same thing over and over again"

"You are by far the most powerful woman I have ever met that would want to stand her ground and fight instead of turn around and hide"

Charlotte looked up to Eliot, surprised that he would say something so touching and moving to her. She felt her rough hand in hers as he slightly gripped it. Charlotte almost felt like passing out when Eliot brought his face down and gently kissed her on the cheek, letting his lips stay there for a moment longer than supposed to be. Her heart went into a slight panic attack as he dropped her hand and took a step back before smiling to her and leaving the training room.


	12. Bad News

Charlotte felt a violent shake on her ankles, making her grunt in her sleep. She mumbled something between the lines of 'go away' and 'fuck off', but the person still persisted. Charlotte then had enough of the shaking and sat up right to yell at whoever was bugging her. She didn't expect to see Aunt Tara at the end with a wide-eyed look on her face.

"I'm calling a meeting in 30 minutes" Tara said. "Get dressed, squirt"

"What's wrong?" Charlotte asked.

"Get up!" Tara said impatiently.

Charlotte watched as Tara walked over to one of the dressers and started to take out random clothes. She's never seen her aunt look this terrified in her life. What did she find out? Did anyone have any idea what she was going to say?

"Can you give me a hint?" Charlotte tried again.

"Charlotte! Get changed" Tara said abruptly.

"You said you were going to be gone for a while" Charlotte let out. "Now you aren't even my own aunt anymore"

"Not until I tell everyone else" Tara said.

"Are they all downstairs?" Charlotte asked.

"They will be" Tara replied. "And will be waiting for you"

"Am I going to leave?" Charlotte asked. "Please don't make me! I can fight now"

"Not as good as these guys" Tara muttered.

Charlotte moved to ask another question but her aunt had already made her way out of the door. She hadn't realized that her heart was practically beating right out of her chest. She closed her eyes and tried to use some of the breathing techniques that Eliot had taught her but that just made her beating heart resound in her ears. Charlotte decided that nothing seemed to be working and looked over to her clothes to change into.

When she made her way down the stairs, she noticed that everyone was already there. Hardison, Parker, and Eliot each were sitting on the chairs as Tara paced in front of the screen. Charlotte cautiously looked over to Parker who only gave a slight smile as if to cheer her up. Charlotte sat down and noticed that Eliot had moved a cup of coffee over in her direction as they waited for Tara to talk.

"I knew something was very wrong about this whole target thing" Tara began.

"What did you find out?" Parker asked. "We tried going through every single file and nothing came up. You said so yourself. Maybe this whole thing is just a hoax? What if they are after something else and wanted Charlotte out of the way? That would make sense. Maybe we should try that angle. Let's see what we come up with"

"We're on the right track" Tara objected. "The band of grifters that worked solo back in the day have banned together to get rid of Charlotte"

Charlotte felt her throat close up like as if someone had just wrapped his hands around her throat. Aunt Tara had reassured her that grifters do not work with their own kind in any sort of profession. How did those people put aside their differences and decide to ban together? Why would they go through all of that trouble to get rid of her?

"Excuse me?" Hardison asked in a concerned voice.

"A bunch of my insiders have heard rumors" Tara said. "I heard of these rumors nearly four months ago and never really thought about it. It was only when we were going through the grifters' files did I really started to wonder how true those rumors were. So that's why I left"

"How many are we talking?" Eliot asked.

"I counted up to four but there may be more" Tara said.

"Did these men kill my dad, Aunt Tara?" Charlotte asked suddenly.

Tara looked at her before slowly sighing, "It's possible"

Charlotte felt her tears rise up into her eyes as she pushed off of the table and walked back out of the meeting room. She heard everyone in the room calling for her to return but she didn't listen. Charlotte's feet automatically went over to her room but she forced them to go somewhere else. She saw the fire escape window and tried to pry it open before a hand came up and slammed it back shut.

"You don't want to do that" Eliot's voice called to her.

She moved to argue for him to let her get out but instead she just dropped to the ground. Eliot eased down right next to her, thinking she was going to cry but she didn't. Instead, she just sat there stock still like a broken doll on display. Eliot didn't know what to do but wrap his arm around her shoulders.

Charlotte had no idea what came over her at that moment, but she turned her head to the side and kissed Eliot on the lips. Eliot was about to move back to break the kiss, but instead, he let her lips linger there a moment longer.

Charlotte had to admit that she was surprised that Eliot was letting her kiss him longer than just a few seconds. She was even more surprised when he tightened his grip on her shoulders, pulling the two closer as he brought his other hand to her face. Charlotte's head started to spin out of control as she continued to kiss Eliot. She always thought that she was the only one with feelings and never knew that Eliot was hiding them from her.

They broke the kiss, keeping their heads close together as Charlotte felt Eliot's hot breath on her skin. She forced her eyes open and gazed into his piercing blue eyes.

He gave her a slight smile and brought her hair back behind her ear. In the new light, he could tell that she was flushed as blood rushed up to her cheeks.

"So what changed your mind? You were always conservative about your emotions" Charlotte said. "Why did you all of a sudden kiss me? Is it because I might die soon?"

"It was you who kissed me"

"But you let me, Eliot" Charlotte said. "You wouldn't have let me a week ago"

Eliot had to admit that she was right about that accusation. But it wasn't because he knew she was going to die soon.

"You are not going to die"

"Am I?"

"I don't want you talking like that"

"Four men are after me"

"So, you saw me fight more than four"

"But they can blend into any background they want you to believe"

"Don't worry. The team will be able to tell them apart"

"They are professionals"

"So is your aunt" Eliot countered.

Charlotte sighed and looked back down the hall where she could hear Tara speaking to the group. She brought her legs close to her chest and leaned her head down on Eliot's shoulder.

"I'm scared"

"I know"

"What do I do, Eliot?"

"Listen to everything that we tell you to do" Eliot advised.

"Like I haven't done that one before"

"Tara is probably telling them a plan" Eliot nodded back down to the hall.

"A plan of what? How can you get them off of my backs?" Charlotte asked.

"They don't necessarily want you, remember? They want a list" Eliot reminded her.

"A list that I never saw" Charlotte told him.

Eliot knew how frustrating it was for her to not know why a certain amount of people were after her. But the trio was taught by one of the greatest masterminds in the world and knew how he would react to this.

"Exactly"

Charlotte looked up to Eliot and noticed that the clocks in his head were ticking like crazy. He gazed down at her and gave her a smile.

"What are you talking about? What are you planning on doing?" Charlotte asked.

The Rashomon Job. That was the only one that he felt could work on a team of grifters. There would be so many people pretending to be grifters that the professionals will get confused. The only problem is that there needs to be five roles to play the part.

They couldn't use Charlotte, she wasn't ready! The thought of her being in the job made Eliot hold her closer to him.

"Trying to find a way out for you" Eliot said. "One that doesn't need you in the job"

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind"

"You would need me in the job in order to get rid of me? What would be my role then?" Charlotte asked.

"Nothing! I won't let you get hurt! I don't want you to get recognized" Eliot told her.

"But if you need me then I would be more than glad to help" Charlotte pleaded. "I need to be free again"

"You just said that you were scared for your life"

"I am! I'm even scared to-"Charlotte stopped herself and then started again, "I want to be able to step outside once again. You can't keep me caged until they go away"

"We don't need to use you. We can call in some backup"

"Who?" Charlotte asked. "Sophie? Nate? Where are they now?"

"They will come to help us" Eliot said but knew that Charlotte was right. "They have to know what's going on right now"

Charlotte sighed and then leaned in and kissed Eliot on the lips once again. Eliot squinted his eyes shut until she broke the kiss, smiled a pity smile, and left him to believe that the patriarch and matriarch would return back to the nest.

**POSTER! I just recently made a poster for this story, if you want to see the full thing, go to my homepage and go onto my photobucket account to see not only this story but all of my other ones too! THANK YOU FOR READING AND I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!**


	13. Open Your Eyes

"Are you out of your mind!?"

Hardison stared at Eliot for a long time, wondering if this was some sort of joke. The only problem was Eliot had never looked so serious at all in his life.

"She has to attend no matter what. Her mother's celebration is all wrapped around the retirement and Charlotte being passed down the torch" Eliot explained.

Hardison couldn't believe what he was hearing coming out of Eliot's mouth. If Parker were in that situation he would never let her leave his sight.

"This is your girlfriend! She's not a piece of meat" Hardison let out. "You would be sending her right into the assassin's hands. You do realize that they will be there right?"

Eliot felt his stomach turn into stone as he glared daggers right into Hardison's skull. Of course he knew what kind of danger he was putting Charlotte in. Did he like it? Of course not!

"You don't think I know that!" Eliot yelled out.

Hardison lifted up a hand and raised his palms up as if saying he yielded. Eliot turned around and ran his hand through his hair. The hitter let out a frustrated sigh before turning back to the hacker. Hardison figured that that was a sign for them to continue their argument.

Even though Hardison hasn't gotten close to Charlotte as Eliot and Parker did, he still felt slightly responsible for her. Eliot wasn't the only one protecting her; it was all three of them. He was beginning to like having her around. He knew that if their client had heard of Eliot's plan, he would've flew Charlotte off over to California by now.

As much as Eliot hate to admit it, Charlotte was a key part in the whole ceremony that is happening a week from now. She was supposed to attend and be a part of the show. But having Charlotte in a big room with people that she doesn't even know will be on the guest list was a big red flag. Not to mention, Eliot would not be able to be by her the whole entire time.

"All I am saying is that we need to think of what is the safest way of keeping her safe and find the list at the same time. There would be too much to do" Hardison complained.

The list. How could Eliot have forgotten about that damn thing? It was somewhere hidden within the facility or mansion of a home. Otherwise, it was lost in time until someone accidentally finds it.

"We're back!" Parker yelled out. "That shift was so grueling! That old lady was never going to leave"

"Well, that's what you get for asking about her family" Charlotte called out.

"I was only trying to be nice. Hey, baby, what's up?" Parker came up and kissed Hardison on the cheek. "You two look kind of tense. What happened?"

"Is it the ceremony?"

"You mean the whole passing the platoon thing for you?"

"Uh-huh" they both said.

"I'm sorry but I have to go. It's kind of the whole point" Charlotte said.

"It's dangerous" Hardison said slowly.

"It's tradition"

"It's stupid"

"We don't even have the right plan for you. What happens if you get hurt?" Eliot asked.

Charlotte slowly wrapped her arms around his waist and placed her head onto his chest. Eliot brought his arm across her shoulders and rested his chin on the top of her head. Visions of failed missions came flooding into his head one by one. Only this time they were pictures of Charlotte instead of the actual victims.

She couldn't help but feel terrified as of this point. All three of her protectors were at a standstill and what to do with her. The bodyguards at the ceremony won't even know what to do in this situation. But what if the bodyguards were actually working for the mysterious group?

"I know. But this was planned for six months now" Charlotte said in a small voice.

"So say you're sick" Parker shrugged.

"I doubt that would work"

"Then let's just say you broke your leg!"

"She's not going to break her leg. Charlotte is going to the ceremony" Tara said as she came down the stairs.

"She's your niece" Eliot glared to Tara.

"So you have reminded me countless times already. She's not going to the ceremony" Tara said slowly. "She'll be around but no one will see her. Get it? Charlotte, you are going to play a big role for us. You are going to ship off our first file"

"What?" Charlotte let out.

"You'll go in as a worker in the mailing department" Tara said.

"But I thought that was Hardison's job! Why did the plans change?" Charlotte asked. "I thought that he was going to do a sweep of the files and get out"

"We would've, but this ceremony isn't at our usual annual parties, Charlotte. It was 'conveniently' moved to one of your mom's competitor's showrooms" Tara informed. "Ironically enough, he is one of the suspected four"

"Then she can't go! There is no way she is going" Eliot said.

"She isn't going to be at the party, I am" Tara mentioned.

"You?"

"Of course! I always go, remember?"

Parker then slowly nodded, "You are going to distract him"

"Just to see what he knows"

"What if you get caught?"

"He hasn't caught me once"

"The guy could have a gun!"

"But thankfully, Eliot will be there"

"Wait! Who am I posing as?" Eliot asked. "You don't need any protection anyways, Tara"

"As a doctor" Tara said. "We will need someone to get Hardison in the back. Who else is going to send out virus spams to the grifters?"

"Please tell me we are not doing the Rashomon Job" Hardison groaned. "Y'all went too far with the allergies symptoms"

"So what am I stealing?"

"Parker, you are going to steal their blueprints of an attack-"Tara instructed.

"Whoa! Now that is way too complicated" Eliot let out.

"We are not stealing a dagger but leaving behind fake paper trail"

"This is why it's too complicated"

"I thought Nate taught you everything"

"Well… yeah, he did"

"And wouldn't you guys want to protect Charlotte?" Tara asked. "I know you all grew close"

"Of course we do! But what if we mess up?" Hardison asked. "The only head that would be cut off is Charlotte's"

"Thanks"

"I didn't mean it like that"

"I know-"

"So what role would Charlotte play?"

"A worker"

"Why?" Charlotte asked.

"To break the bond and make everyone paranoid"

"So that they turn on each other!"

"And get their minds off of you" Eliot said.

"What about the ceremony?"

"Let me take care of that! I'll feed out little white lies" Tara smirked. "I may even throw in a few names of the four to make it look like they are double crossing"

"Grifters hate spinning out of control"

"Excuse me?"

"You know it's true" Eliot voiced out.

"So! It doesn't mean you have to say it out loud"

Hardison waved his remote control at the TV as files of workers, invitations, and e-mails popped up. He chewed on his bottom lip until he smiled.

"Alright! I know a way in for all of us"

"That's my boy!"

"I can even make up an alias for you, Charlotte"

"Terrific"

**POSTER! I just recently made a poster for this story, if you want to see the full thing, go to my homepage and go onto my photobucket account to see not only this story but all of my other ones too! THANK YOU FOR READING AND I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!**


	14. Tara's Job

"Wonderful to see you here today, Miss Tara" the old coat man exclaimed. "Have you found your soul mate yet? He won't even be able to catch up with you! Knowing your speed"

"Of course you already know the answer" Tara smiled and turned around to gaze at the party, slightly muttering under her breath. "I'm in"

"_Good, now we got to wait until my device hacks into the computer system"_

"Gisele!" Tara yelled out as she threw her hands open.

"Tara, I thought you would never show up!" the other blonde woman hugged Tara. "How is Charlotte?"

"She's doing fine, sis" Tara broke the hug. "She's… adjusting"

Gisele gave her younger sister a peculiar look, "Adjusting?"

"About the family business, Gisele" Tara said slowly with a slight smile.

"You didn't!"

"Of course I did"

"How could you do that?"

"Because she had the right to know"

"I thought we all agreed that I would be the one to decide that" Gisele muttered. "Yes, she was a mark but did she have to know like that?"

"What explanation that you would give in order to explain everything that's happening?" Tara challenged.

"How did she take it?"

"Pretty well, actually"

"How so?"

"She is living with a hacker, hitter, and thief"

"You are letting her live with a hitter?" Gisele said in a hushed voice. "Where did you find these people? You know what those people are like"

"Apparently you will have a lot to talk about with Charlotte once this whole thing is over"

"What are you supposed to do?"

"A few things"

"Is there anything I can do to help out?" Gisele asked. "Who is the mark?"

"The less you know, the better" Tara scanned the room. "Just go along with the ceremony like nothing is going on, Gisele. My team and I will take care of everything"

"I hope so" Gisele nodded before smiling and gripping her sister's hand. "Please be careful, Tara, I don't want anything to happen to you"

"I'll be careful" Tara said.

The lights suddenly buzzed and faded in and out, Gisele looked up to the lights with a bewildered look but noticed her sister didn't react. Tara fished into her purse and grabbed out a syringe. Gisele saw the small equipment in her sister's hand and then straightened up. Just as the room got slightly darker and the crowd got a bit louder, Parker came by as a waitress and handed Tara a champagne glass.

"Alright, everyone!" Gisele yelled out as the lights went back to normal. "I have been hearing about technical difficulties but I assure you that everything is fine"

As her sister left to keep eyes away from Tara, she squeezed in the fluid into the champagne. Just conveniently, Parker had made her way around to Tara just in time.

"Excuse me; can you give this to the man that is by the buffet table?"

"Of course!" Parker gave a cute and cheeky smile. "He seems like quite the catch"

Tara glared at Parker and took the clean champagne and walked around the crowd, scanning the faces and looking for one man in particular. Suddenly, her shoulder bumped into someone, splashing champagne over the man's suit.

"I am so sorry!" Tara yelled out as she dabbed him. "I hope it wasn't expensive"

"Nothing that I can't afford" the man smiled to her.

"And who might you be?" Tara asked with an extra sultry to her voice.

"Jack Émé" the man brought her hand to his lips.

"Mine is Tara Carlisle" Tara nodded to the stage. "This is my sister's convention"

"I see beauty runs in the family" Jack took this time to look her up and down. "Don't you have a niece, then?"

"Yes, Charlotte" Tara nodded. "Such a tragedy, I'm sure you've heard. She actually had a skiing accident up in Berlin"

"Really?" Jack said but it sounded more that he was pissed rather than surprised. "I never heard about that. I am terribly sorry"

"That's okay; do you see that woman over there?" Tara pointed to the German grifter.

Tara knew exactly who this man was the minute he bumped her shoulder. This wasn't a Frenchman making a conversation; this was one of the grifters out to get Charlotte.

"What about her?"

"She was so kind and generous" Tara said. "She gave Charlotte her own private wing! The poor girl shattered nearly every bone in her leg"

"I am so sorry to hear that" Jack replied. "I am really sorry but I must go now. I believe my colleagues are waiting for me. It was so nice to meet you"

"Nice to meet you too" Tara smiled and waved the man off. "_The French potato is hooked._ _Let's just send a package his way. Charlotte… you're up"_

**POSTER! I just recently made a poster for this story, if you want to see the full thing, go to my homepage and go onto my photobucket account to see not only this story but all of my other ones too! THANK YOU FOR READING AND I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!**


	15. Charlotte's Job

"_I don't know, you guys. I'm a little bit nervous" _Charlotte whispered. _"What if I get caught? They'll kill me. Or maybe even-"_

"_You will do fine. Trust me, I'll always be watching you" _Eliot's voice said through the coms.

Charlotte could hear the music from up above and knew that everyone in the team was up there doing God knows what. Probably all sipping champagne and talking to her mother no doubt. Making her go the extra mile like as if it existed. Charlotte nearly tripped herself as she almost past the room she was supposed to be in.

"I am such a cluts these days" Charlotte said in a naval voice.

"It's alright, Miss. It's easy to get lost down here. You must be working for Gisele Williams' Company" the man at the post said.

Charlotte looked up from above her thick framed glasses and gave a shy smile and nod. The man was kind enough to smile back at her, hand her a folder, and let her be on her way. Charlotte took a look around the delivery room and almost felt like she was in a lab of some sorts. The only thing missing was the coats.

Charlotte felt the file tucked away in her shirt, in hopes of shipping it off to the 'wrong' hands. She hugged her arms tighter to her sides in hopes that it doesn't fall through.

All she really had to do was change an address on a package to one of the trio groups in hopes of finding out what they know. She prayed that it wasn't as much as she thought it was.

Suddenly, the lights started shuddering on and off, causing a commotion. She knew that her time was nearing and she was going to act quickly. Problem is she hasn't started looking for any of the names yet. Panic started to race right through her as she tried to get around the panicked crowd.

"It's alright, everyone" the boss yelled out. "It's just technical difficulties"

"What was that?"

"Probably a power shortage from all the lights on upstairs"

"What if it's a sign for a black out?"

"We should really hurry up our wing" a woman voiced out.

"Yeah, I wanna be out of here before that starts up again" a man agreed.

The boss shrugged, "It's been one rough night, right?"

"I don't get why we had to work over time, anyways"

"I thought these companies were rivals?"

"I guess things just change overnight" a man laughed.

Everyone around the room started to laugh as Charlotte put on a nervous smile and continued to look through the piles. Part of the ceremony usually has an auction a part of it.

How could she not find the piles of the people she was looking for? A thought then hit her as she realized that maybe the important people were in the back.

"30 minutes sounds good to you?"

"Can we switch it down to 3?"

"That's very funny" the boss rolled his eyes. "Seriously, everyone! 30 minutes, and then we are shutting this place down! Sounds good to everyone? We can go home early"

"Finally!" a man yelled out.

"_I think I'm going to have a problem, guys"_

Just as Charlotte finished her sentence she noticed a pile a little bit ways off and away from the crowd. She went over and noticed the familiar name of her mark.

"_You can do this"_ Eliot reassured her.

"Just a minute" Charlotte mumbled.

She slipped out the letter in the manila envelope and placed it in the middle of the pile. Charlotte took a glance over her shoulder as she quickly scanned through the file and took out at least three envelopes that had the names of the different grifters.

"_Do you have them? Time's a wasting"_

Charlotte smiled, "Eliot… it's you're turn"

**POSTER! I just recently made a poster for this story, if you want to see the full thing, go to my homepage and go onto my photobucket account to see not only this story but all of my other ones too! THANK YOU FOR READING AND I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!**


	16. Eliot's Job

Eliot moved through the crowd as he scanned the area for certain people. There was a big shift of change that was going on in the party, people were getting tense.

This was a good sign on their part considering how the only ones tense were the grifters. He straightened up slightly and walked over to a dark-haired woman as he gently touched the small of her bag.

"There you are! I thought I was never going to find you! But then again, how am I to so easily lose track of the most beautiful woman in this room" Eliot said in his normal sweet talk voice.

"_Excuse me? I hope that message was to me"_ Charlotte's voice hissed into his ear.

"_He's working, remember?"_

"_He's the better sweet talker than Hardison"_

Eliot tried to ignore this group members talking in his ear as he brought the woman's hand up to his lips and gave a soft kiss. He could almost feel the woman blush as she batted her eyes and looked him up and down.

"And who might you be?"

Eliot moved to talk but then the light started buzzing in and out for a minute. The people in the party didn't seem to mind it going on and off by now but Eliot pretended to be set on edge from the flashing lights.

"What's the matter?"

It was working, the woman was starting to look around the room to pinpoint her other set of grifters. Sure enough, the others didn't seem bothered but the one who Tara was talking to seemed to be enjoying it way too much. The man was the host of the party and wasn't even drinking a glass of champagne that day. According to Hardison, he quit drinking about a month ago.

"That man over there poisoned the champagne glasses"

"That's impossible!"

"Do you really think I'm lying, ma'am?" Eliot looked right into her eyes. "I wouldn't be warning other grifters if I didn't"

The woman took in a slight gasp but then quickly recovered herself. She took in a slight nod and was about to take a drink out of her champagne but then stopped and looked at Eliot. He gave her a slight nod at the glass as he waited for her decision. The woman tensed up and then set the tray down while a waiter walked by her.

Suddenly, there was a gasp coming from the corner of the room. People were giving space to a man at the buffet table as he started staggering to the ground. Eliot gave the woman a concerned look as he made his way over to the man who wasn't feeling well. He grabbed the man and gently set him down onto the ground and turned him onto his back.

It was one of the leaders of the coven of grifters that the woman was so closely tied to. She gasped in shock as she looked over to the host of the party. The only problem was he was nowhere to be found. Tara had timed it just perfectly to get the man out of the party and onto the balcony before the drug took its toll.

Eliot quickly got the man up and practically dragged him over to the door as a guard let him into the back room. He quickly moved him over to an infirmary and placed the man onto one of the lying tables and took out a bottle from his pocket. He took out a pill and shoved it into the man's mouth and covered his hand over it. The man was too delirious to try and even struggle before the pill dissolved and he went to sleep.

Eliot took his time to leave the infirmary and run off over to the cargo room just as the men were boarding up their loads. He quickly took off his suit and tie and threw it to the side as he placed a hat on the top of his head. Eliot knew he was running out of time as he scanned the giant cargo room until he found what he was looking for. He picked up the big pot of a rare set of orchids and threw aside the notecard of someone else's name.

With one hand, he took out the mailing address of the woman he just talked to and stuck it onto an unmarked box. One thing that Tara knew for a fact was that this woman was allergic to orchids. Sending her these flowers was definitely going to send out the wrong message of the other sets of grifters. He gently brought the flower down and bolted the top shut.

"Hey, man!" Eliot yelled out to a driver. "Make sure to have this one be the first one to drop off"

The man popped his gum and nodded as he took the box and carefully set it into his already full delivery truck. Eliot turned back around and ducked his head low as he made his way out of the cargo room. He could just imagine that woman's face as she takes giant steps back and already start to itch like crazy. He couldn't help but have a smile work up on his face.

"Boys, let's move out!" a man yelled out at the top of his lungs.

"_Cargo's on the move, Hardison. Move your ass, we don't have that much time" _Eliot whispered.

Eliot took a turn and immediately stopped as he noticed a goofy girl with a side braid and big bold glasses was waiting for him. He smiled at Charlotte as he took a hold of her hand and kissed her gently on the lips. When he broke the kiss, she smiled so wide that she reminded him of the Cheshire cat. Eliot linked his arm around her waist snuggly and kissed the top of her head as they quickly moved over to the nearest exit.

**POSTER! I just recently made a poster for this story, if you want to see the full thing, go to my homepage and go onto my photobucket account to see not only this story but all of my other ones too! THANK YOU FOR READING AND I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!**


	17. Hardison's Job

Hardison rolled his eyes at Eliot's last remark as he snuck his way around the bottom floor of the party. There had been more than plenty black outs to have slowed down the computer system to know that someone like Hardison was hacking into them. He smirked as another flicker of a light show happened just above his head. He tried opening a door to an office but noticed that it was locked.

He took out something out of his pocket and started to wiggle it around in the keyhole. A soft click came from inside the door, making him try the handle again to notice that it was unlocked.

"Man, am I lucky to have a thief as a girlfriend"

"_You should be so lucky. Not everyone can unlock doors as fast as me" _Parker's voice spoke through the coms.

"_I learned from the best. Now how about I teach you a couple of hacking tricks"_

"_Maybe another time" _Hardison could hear Parker chuckle. _"Hurry up! The sooner you're done with your job than I can begin mine"_

"Patience, woman"

"_Could you just hurry up?"_

"_Eliot, can't you see I'm in the middle of-"_

"_People are getting suspicious about the flashing lights. If you don't hack into those documents now, everything will be lost. I say we got about a half hour before this whole place shuts down"_

"Don't worry, you guys" Hardison replied.

"_I'm starting to doubt that" _Eliot responded. _"There is always something going wrong in your part. Mostly because you talk half of the time. You need to shut it and get your finger to working. Need I remind you that Charlotte is also here too?"_

"Why must you always insult me?" Hardison complained.

"_Because it's the truth" _Eliot said.

"_Babe! Tell him I can multi-task" _Hardison quickly said.

Hardison could hear Parker sigh, "Just hurry up with the mission. I want to steal stuff already! I can't really do that until you give me the final okay"

"So I can't multi-task?"

"_Just tell us where you are" _Tara whispered. _"No one talks as much as you do .Hopefully your fingers were also doing some of the talking too. If you really can multi-task then you would be done by now. Right?"_

"Woman, what do you think I'm doing down here, getting free HBO?"

"_I was hoping so"_ Tara joked.

"This takes time"

"_Which we don't have much of. You're barely leaving enough time for Parker to finish her job"_

"Excuse me? Because you were too damn busy flirting with every girl up there" Hardison complained.

"_You were?" _Charlotte's voice rang out into his ear.

"_It was part of the job" _Eliot said to her.

"A job I could've had" Hardison mumbled.

"_Excuse me?"_

"You heard that?" Hardison coughed. "I didn't mean it like that"

"_Really, Hardison? What did you mean then?" _Parker asked.

Hardison cleared his throat and tried to think up of a response. He clicked into the database but suddenly an excuse was far from his mind.

"Whoa" Hardison ran a hand over his mouth. "Damn"

"_What?"_

"You guys got to see this"

"_Damn it, Hardison! What is it?" _Eliot hissed into his voice. _"What do you see?"_

"I can't explain-"

"_Hardison, what's wrong? You sound worried" _Parker said. _"What's wrong?"_

"_I'll explain when we all regroup. Parker, now's your time to shine, baby" _Hardison said as he rushed out of the office.

**POSTER! I just recently made a poster for this story, if you want to see the full thing, go to my homepage and go onto my photobucket account to see not only this story but all of my other ones too! THANK YOU FOR READING AND I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!**


	18. Parker's Job

Parker silently shimmied around in the air vent as she worked her way over to the target's office. Most of the time, she would have this rapidly fast beating heart that she was sure people could hear from down below. But right now, her mind was swarming around what Hardison must've found out. She has known him a long time to know that whatever he found might affect what they are doing right now.

"Can you at least give me a hint?" Parker asked. "I have never heard you this stressed out before. Remember what we all said about keeping secrets from each other? Sooner or later, it's going to bite all of us in the ass"

"I remember, trust me" Hardison grumbled. "I already told you that I'm going to tell everyone once we get back. I just got to double check on all of these files I downloaded. I'm hoping I'm wrong about all of this"

Parker opened up the air vent and gently placed it right next to her. She hoisted her first half of her body out and reached her hands over her head. She let gravity take hold as she felt herself dropping down to the ground. When her hands hit the floor, she flipped her legs down gracefully and continued to walk over to the safe.

"Hardison, is it bad?" Parker asked. "Like really bad?"

"_He'll tell us when we are all together" _Eliot said. _"Hurry up and crack the safe"_

"You know, when I thought you were finally going to get a stable girlfriend, you would turn out to be nice for a change" Parker hissed back. "Guess I was wrong"

"_Could you guys possibly stop arguing?" _Tara asked. _"You're giving me a headache"_

The thief placed her ear close to the lock and heard it softly tick. She listened intently and patiently as the lights started to dim in and out once again. She looked over her shoulder at the door as she tried her best to quicken her pace. Parker knew she was running low on time.

"_Are you almost done?"_

"Almost"

"_Hurry up!"_

"Shut up, Eliot!"

"_People are starting to leave"_

"What does that also mean?"

"_That I lost track of the target"_

"Perfect"

Parker opened up the door and saw a couple of files were placed in the safe. She scanned the files and noticed that most were business plans but saw one of Charlotte's moms business and the other only meant for Charlotte. Parker quickly pocketed them and was about to close the safe when something caught her eye. She quickly reached out and grabbed the money and took in a big sniff.

"_Leave it" _Hardison's voice said through the ear piece. _"The man is greedy and will know that his money is gone before the files"_

"Can't I just take a few?" Parker pleaded. "Maybe about 753 bucks?"

"_Babe, leave the money" _Hardison said firmly. _"We'll rob a bank for our next date"_

"Seriously?" Parker beamed. "You're not just pulling my leg, are you?"

"_I'll make sure he'll follow through with those plans" _Eliot said. _"Just get out of there!"_

"_I'm pretty sure robbing the bank is still illegal here" _Charlotte's unsure voice responded.

Parker only smiled at how naïve her friend was as she placed the money back and closed the safe. She quickly ran over to the vent and jumped up without making a sound. Just as she closed off the vent, the target came in, switched on the lights, and went to the safe. The man sighed blissfully as he took out his money and counted it, Parker made a face at him as she scooted out of the vent.

**POSTER! I just recently made a poster for this story, if you want to see the full thing, go to my homepage and go onto my photobucket account to see not only this story but all of my other ones too! THANK YOU FOR READING AND I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!**


	19. Mr Brightside

"I'm so glad we're out of that place!"

"I thought you wanted to get out of the pub?"

"I did! But not while doing some kind of job that could get us arrested. I thought for sure that I was going to blow my cover" Charlotte freaked out.

"You did fine!"

"You think so?"

"You'll get used to it, sweetheart. A grifter's life is always on the edge" Tara said as she lounged on a couch.

"Your job was so easy compared to everyone else's. Did you have to pick through a safe or hack into a security system?" Parker teased.

"Give her a break" Eliot glared.

"I was just trying to install positive thinking"

"You were doing a terrible job at it" Charlotte turned to Eliot and sighed, "So what does this mean? Is it all over?"

"We'll have to see in at least a week" Eliot smiled and stroked Charlotte's cheek. "They'll take the bait, Char"

"We've done this kind of stuff before"

"You'll be back in your own bed in no time"

"Wow"

"What?"

"I might be going back to a normal life after this"

"I know, I would kill myself if I were you"

Eliot was about to insult Parker after her remark but then Hardison rushed into the room and turned on the big screen. Hardison almost looked like he was a dead man walking by how much color that had left his skin.

"We have a huge problem"

Tara sat up onto her elbow, "What is it?"

"We've been played" Hardison looked at the group with wide eyes, "The target knew who we were all along"

"What! How can that be possible?" Parker yelled out.

"He has all of our data from the very first Leverage headquarters!" Hardison responded.

"That's insane!"

"But possible"

Hardison turned around and showed everyone pictures from jobs all the way dating back from their first job until the last with Sophie and Nate. Eliot felt as if a rock was lodged into his throat as he noticed pictures of the pub and recent pictures of the trio walking to meet their client about Charlotte. He fought the urge to pound his fist down onto the glass when he saw a picture of Charlotte serving people by a window booth seat. They had found her and knew where they were keeping her all along.

"We've been played"

"Told you"

Everyone was quiet as the unsettling feeling drifted around the room. Charlotte shook slightly as she tried her best to not freak out.

"What do we do now, guys?"

"Lay low"

"Isn't that what we've been doing this whole time?"

"Not just you this time, all of us. We'll have to go our separate ways"

"No, you can't do that!" Charlotte tugged on his arm. "You guys are a team, remember? What will happen if they chase after you? What then? These people have assassins on their speed dial!"

"He's right" Parker said to her friend.

"We've done this before. We'll only keep apart for a little bit"

"But I will stay with you"

"Where will you guys go?" Charlotte asked. "What if- You guys will look out for each other, right?"

"We'll just be in Minnesota for the time period" Parker shrugged.

"I thought we agreed that next time we were going to hide we were going to North Carolina?"

"While you guys decide on that" Aunt Tara said. "I'll be in Germany to keep a close eye on the enemy"

Charlotte looked over to her aunt and almost wanted to plead for her not to go. She couldn't go into enemy territory when they knew exactly what Tara was doing.

Tara gave Charlotte a confident smile but she knew fully well what she was doing. In order to make a lie work, you had to follow through with it; in this case Tara had to go to Germany in order to make the grifters believe that her niece was really there after a skiing accident.

"What about us? Where will we go?"

"I was thinking Texas"

Hardison scoffed, "Typical, man. Let the southern boy choose a hiding place and he'll go back to where he came from"

"I think I like the idea of going to Texas, Hardison" Charlotte said slowly.

"Better than North Carolina" Parker muttered.

Hardison was about to respond but then just shook his head and wrap his arm around her waist. Parker smiled and then noticed that this might secretly be one of the last times she will ever see this group again.

"So, until next time… be careful"

**POSTER! I just recently made a poster for this story, if you want to see the full thing, go to my homepage and go onto my photobucket account to see not only this story but all of my other ones too! THANK YOU FOR READING AND I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!**


	20. Peace with the Past

"Are you sure they're alright? We haven't heard from them in a week" Charlotte asked.

Eliot let out a small intake of breath as he finished up with the scrambled eggs. Poor Charlotte didn't realize how good Parker and Hardison are when it comes to staying off the radar. She was more concerned about them then her own wellbeing. He turned back around and walked over to the island that she was sitting at.

"That was the plan, remember?" Eliot smirked.

"You guys said that we would go half a month out of sight but not stop communicating to each other" Charlotte remarked.

"Actually it was laying low for a month and continue talking to each other when it's half a month"

"What! When did you guys reach that decision?"

"While you were packing upstairs. We have done this many times before, baby" Eliot said to her.

"Wasn't I supposed to be a part of this decision? I thought we were…" Charlotte choked up on the last words.

"A team?"

"I was hoping so" Charlotte looked down at her plate and sighed, "I guess a part of me forgot that I was just a client. I've been around you three for so long that it just kind of felt right. I felt that I belonged with the Leverage team"

Eliot reached out and took a hold of both of Charlotte's hands and held them in his grip. Charlotte slowly looked up and noticed that he was smiling but his eyes looked distant again. She knew fully well that he was thinking about his past. Instead of shying away and avoiding his gaze, she stared into his piercing eyes until he finally spoke.

"That's how I felt after working with them for a while" Eliot let out a low chuckle. "I honestly thought that there was no way out of my killing days"

"You're not that man anymore"

"That's what I've been telling myself for years now"

"And now you're hearing it from your girlfriend's lips"

Eliot looked up into Charlotte's eyes as he tried to process what she was thinking of. But all he could see was understanding and how much she trusted him.

Charlotte walked around the tiny island in the kitchen and leaned on the counter as she brought Eliot's face down to hers. She placed his forehead onto hers and sighed as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment of being close to him. She felt Eliot's hand gently brush against hers as he remained still and took in the scent of Charlotte's sweet perfume. He never once thought that he would end up opening up about so many things in his past and to someone that he shouldn't have fallen in love with in the first place.

"I killed so many people"

"I know"

"I never thought for a second about whose families or loved ones I might be hurting"

"You weren't trained to think about that"

"So why am I thinking about it now?"

Charlotte didn't know the answer and frankly, didn't want to think about it. She was never in this type of situation where years of her life she regretted something. Now just listening to Eliot talk about his past almost made her pity the man. She took her head off of his' and looked up into his eyes.

"You're human" Charlotte told him. "There is nothing you can do but to make amends with it"

Eliot cupped his hands around her face and just took a moment to look at Charlotte. If he was still in on the job, would he have been assigned to kill Charlotte? He knew without any hesitation that he would have killed her without a moment's thought. Charlotte probably wouldn't have been able to see the color of his eyes before she died.

"I never thought I would hear that from someone" Eliot repeated. "I'm human"

"What about from me?"

"It just makes things a whole lot better"

"You are protecting me from the men who were just like you" Charlotte said. "Now let me protect you from the ghosts inside your head"

Charlotte lightly kissed his lips as she felt his hair tickle her cheek. Eliot wrapped his arms firmly around her waists.

Eliot deepened the kiss more and felt a deep, fiery passion waking up inside of him. Charlotte seemed to enjoy it as her hands traced around his chest. He grabbed onto one of her hands and gave a gentle squeeze as he almost felt like she each kiss she was cleansing him. He broke the kiss and the couple let out gasps of breath as they looked at each other with slight smiles on their faces.

**POSTER! I just recently made a poster for this story, if you want to see the full thing, go to my homepage and go onto my photobucket account to see not only this story but all of my other ones too! THANK YOU FOR READING AND I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!**


	21. Everything

"You did it all wrong" Eliot shook his head. "Sorry, but there is no way you can call this pasta. The texture is all wrong. You didn't even mix the right cheese with this kind of noodle. It kind of reminds me of an artwork of a first grader"

"An hour ago, you told me to make dinner for us. I did it for my boyfriend and not some food critic with a stick up his ass" Charlotte glared. "I don't think it's bad"

"Because you haven't made good pasta"

"Shut up! I thought that most guys would love to have their girlfriends make food for them. If you knew I was going to screw up the food than all you had to do was make the food yourself" Charlotte claimed.

"I was busy"

"Oh, that's right" Charlotte smiled deviously. "Fixing up a truck that you said your dad could never get to work. Really, Eliot, it's a lost cause"

Eliot wiped his mouth with the napkin, "I almost had it last time"

"You nearly killed yourself last time. All that dust that exploded out of the car made it look like a bomb" Charlotte giggled. "Even the sheriff told you not to do it again"

"Let's see you work on a car" Eliot challenged.

"I can't! I'll break a nail. Sorry" Charlotte smiled. "Looks like you're on your own on that one. Or try to find a new hobby"

"I'm going crazy here"

"Story of my life"

"I have to hit something or else I'll go insane"

"And spend a night in jail"

"You know what I mean" Eliot told her.

Charlotte laughed, "Just thinking logically right now for you, babe"

"Or just trying to kill me"

"How so?" Charlotte raised an eyebrow, "For being incredibly smart and thinking ahead?"

"For trying to kill me with this pasta"

"Oh, come on, Eliot" Charlotte rolled her eyes. "It's not that bad! Just turn off the switch you have that says 'chef'. Or better yet, don't complain! I think it tastes delicious. Parker would think so"

Eliot scoffed and did a slight nod at his girlfriend before picking up his plate and brought it over to the sink. He did have to admit that the pasta was good but he couldn't help but tease her. She often poked fun at him countless times now that they were the only human beings that they see every day. Charlotte let out a sigh as she walked over to join him at the sink.

"Charlotte, she's alright" Eliot said to her.

"I know, I know"

"Hardison would never let her get hurt" Eliot looked to her. "Just like I would never let anyone hurt you"

"Is Hardison a hitter too? Can he- Never mind" Charlotte took in a deep breath, "In three days we will be able to talk to them, baby. Then we'll see if they went to Minnesota or North Carolina. They were still arguing when we left"

"It's a close call between those two" Eliot smirked. "Hardison doesn't really like to make Parker unhappy but something about this tech savvy building wants to make him go there. Parker on the other hand wants to go to Minnesota because of this rare gem on display. I honestly don't know who would win that one"

"So is it true what Hardison said?"

"About what?"

"About this being where you grew up?"

"It's the last house we had before my mom died"

"I am so sorry"

"Its fine" Eliot shook his head. "I bought the house back anyways. Dad wasn't too happy about that but I didn't care. It was the last place that I remembered I was truly happy with her"

The next morning, Charlotte sat on the front porch and looked out at the small patch of field as the front yard. She imagined a little Eliot running around, kicking a ball, or even getting covered in mud.

"Good morning" Charlotte looked up as Eliot opened the screen door to join her on the porch. "Sleep well, babe?"

"You're getting better at picking up on people around you"

"It's the old wood on the floor"

Eliot kissed her on the temple, "What are you doing out here?"

"Just wanted to enjoy some of the fresh, southern air. Also, I wanted to let my imagination roam"

"Should I be scared or turned on?"

Charlotte choked on her coffee as Eliot let out a full hearted laugh. She couldn't help but after regaining her composure to laugh as well. Eliot reached over and took a light grip on her knee to know that he was just making a joke. He already knew that she knew he was joking but something always happens around him that makes Eliot constantly want physical contact with Charlotte.

"I was thinking about when you were a little boy" Charlotte clarified. "Get your mind out of the gutter"

"All you had to do was ask" Eliot told her. "What do you want to know?"

Charlotte looked over to Eliot surprised as his question. She remembered how he often kept his distance from her but now, he was willing to share a precious time in his life. She honestly didn't know where to start from a man who was so used to not opening up to people. Where does she start?

Eliot waited as his heart beat loudly in his chest as he tried to control his shaking and sweaty hands. He's only told one woman in his whole life to ask anything she wanted and that woman turned out to be his ex-fiancée. Was this some sort of sign that Charlotte might be his future wife? Or was she going to be another girl that he loved so much but chose his job over her?

"I never really thought about that. What do you want me to know?"

"Everything"

"Are you serious? You don't have to" Charlotte shook her head.

"But I want to more than anything to open up to you. I want you to know everything, baby" Eliot told her.

"But why?" Charlotte asked. "What do you want me to know?"

"Because you are my girlfriend and I feel you deserve the whole truth about me. Let's start from the beginning" Eliot smiled to her.

**POSTER! I just recently made a poster for this story, if you want to see the full thing, go to my homepage and go onto my photobucket account to see not only this story but all of my other ones too! THANK YOU FOR READING AND I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!**


	22. More Than I Deserve

"There you are, Eliot! I was starting to worry about you" Charlotte said as she entered the attic.

"Sorry, just needed some time to think. I didn't notice that I was gone for more than an hour"

"The suns going down, you've been gone for nearly four hours"

Eliot then realized that his eyes were slightly strained and noticed how the room had turned hot pink with the evening sun, "Wow, time certainly does pass when you're just writing your heart out. Come here, sit down, I'll play it for you. It's not done yet but I'll just play it anyways"

Charlotte cocked her head to the side as she made her way over to a wooden box in front of him, "I didn't know you wrote songs"

Eliot smiled up to her nervously as he set the notebook down on her lap. He turned around and picked up his first guitar and placed it onto his lap. He was surprised at how strong the strings still were after years of neglect. Eliot took one last glance up at Charlotte before casting his eyes back down to the paper and started to strum his fingers to create the song he made for her.

'_Mhmmm, Yeah_

_Livin' with me, it ain't easy  
But I do it every day  
And sometimes even now  
I wanna run away.  
But there you are  
You're tryin' to please me,__  
Darlin' you stand your ground  
It's more than I deserve'_

"Wow, baby"

'_I've taken more than I've been givin'.  
I've taken for granted this life I'm livin'.  
I don't know why heaven above  
Blessed me with your sweet love.  
Though I never tell you what you're worth  
It's more than I deserve_

_It's just your style to wear a smile,__  
Oh baby you wear it well,__  
If I had my way I'd dress you in nothin' else.  
So come on here and lay down, a little while  
'Cause you right now  
You're more than I deserve_

_I've taken more than I've been givin'.  
I've taken for granted this life I'm livin'.  
And I don't know why heaven above  
Blessed me with your sweet love.  
Though I never tell you what you're worth  
It's more than I deserve'_

Charlotte has always wanted someone to write a song about her but actually sitting in front of Eliot and listening to the words coming out of his mouth made her so happy that she could melt. She was sure that after this moment she would not be able to eat, sleep, or think of nothing but this song. Her knees felt weak as her mind began to make her dizzy with its thoughts. Her heart was beating so loud that she was afraid that it might drown out the song as her breathing began to shorten; she knew that if she even tried to walk that it would almost feel like she was walking high up in the clouds.

'_I've taken more than I've been givin'  
And I've taken for granted this life I'm livin'.  
And I don't know why heaven above  
Blessed me with your sweet love.  
I know I never tell you what you're worth  
That's 'cause it's more than I deserve._

_Taken more than I've been givin'  
And I've taken for granted this life I'm livin'.  
And I don't know why heaven above  
Blessed me with your sweet love.  
I know I never tell you what you're worth  
It's more than I deserve'_

"No one has ever written a song for me"

"Do you like it?"

"I love it!" Charlotte gushed.

"I know it seems a bit much since we've only been going out for not a long time" Eliot stopped and then corrected himself, "Actually, we haven't gone out at all"

That was the main reason as to why he was trying to hide. He was hoping that by spending time away from Charlotte would calm down his emotions.

But when he looked up, he only saw Charlotte smiling back at him that he wasn't sure if it was the warmth of the sun or his heart just glowing. The evening sun had tinted Charlotte into a slight pink color as all around her gold rays were dying out in the nearly dark room. She didn't seem afraid or intimidated by what the song meant at all. It almost looked like she enjoyed every minute of it.

"Then I hope you take me out once we finally get this hit list off of my back" Charlotte told him.

Eliot let out a low chuckle, "That's a promise, baby"

"And don't forget to sing more songs to me" Charlotte smiled to him.

"As many as you want" Eliot said.

Charlotte got onto her knees and scooted closer to Eliot and gently planted a kiss on his lips. She broke the kiss and looked into his eyes.

"Can I also put on the wish list that you make food and teach me how to fight every day?"

Eliot lifted his head back and let out a laugh as she giggled in front of him. He took her hand and shook his head as they both got up and left the attic. Charlotte took hold of the old-fashioned door knob and closed the attic door as they made their way down the stairs. She leaned her head onto his shoulder as they walked down the narrow hallway.

"You are nothing but trouble" Eliot said into her temple.

"But you enjoy having me around" Charlotte smiled up at him.

"Who wouldn't?" Eliot asked.

The couple made their way into the kitchen as Eliot turned on the light and went over to the stove. He turned Charlotte around and gently picked her up and placed her on the counter. The sudden gesture made her squeal out of surprise as he made his way around the kitchen. Charlotte couldn't help but let out a giggle as she cocked her head to the side, she could get used to this kind of lifestyle.

**POSTER! I just recently made a poster for this story, if you want to see the full thing, go to my homepage and go onto my photobucket account to see not only this story but all of my other ones too! THANK YOU FOR READING AND I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!**


	23. Found

It all happened so fast for Charlotte to recall what was happening. One minute she remembered that she had her head lying on Eliot's chest. The next, the lights blared on so bright that it blinded her as someone grabbed her and threw her out of the bed. At first, she thought it was Eliot but then noticed that Eliot was being ambushed by six strangers.

She gasped, "Eliot!"

"Charlotte!" Eliot yelled to her, "Charlotte, look away. Close your eyes!"

"Let go of him, you bastards!" Charlotte yelled at the top of her lungs. "Leave him alone!"

"Close your eyes!"

"No! I'm not going to!" Charlotte felt tears stinging her eyes. "Please leave him alone! I'll do anything! Stop hurting him!"

"No!" Eliot struggled as he was already on the floor.

A man came into the room and gazed over to Eliot who was already groaning on the ground with blood coming out of his mouth. Eliot already knew the minute he opened his eyes that the strange men had drugged the room to slow the hitter down. The man's gaze slowly turned to Charlotte. She gasped as she remembered seeing this man a couple of times as he approached her, "The last time I saw you, you were just a teenager with fuzzy hair, braces, and glasses. Hello, Charlotte"

"It was you all along? You were the one who was trying to kill me?" Charlotte slurred.

"Let's face the facts, shall we? Our companies were never really partners" the man, who was known as Jose, stepped closer, "Sorry to have lead you on this wild goose chase. I'm sure you are very confused with what's going on. It'll all be over soon though, don't you worry. All you have to tell me is where the list is. Then I will let you and maybe your boyfriend live"

"I don't know what you are talking about" Charlotte growled. "You have been running around looking for something that doesn't exist"

"Don't try to play games with me" Jose did a slight nod to someone holding her, making one of the men twist her arm painfully. Charlotte let out a scream in pain as Eliot let out a yell out his own. He tried to get up but a man punched him down to the ground, knocking the wind out of him. No matter how hard he tried, there was no way that his own mind could overcome the drug. "Feeling useless, Eliot?"

Eliot looked up to the man and gave him a glare. He wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of answering to him.

"Please, don't hurt him" Charlotte whimpered. "I'll give you whatever you want"

Jose turned to her, "Then give me what I came for"

Charlotte only gave a defeated look to Jose and slowly shook her head. She was hoping that once he figured out that she didn't have the list, he would let her go. But instead, he snapped his fingers and left the room. Charlotte didn't know what that meant until she felt her two captors leading her outside the door.

Eliot let out a war cry as he finally got up and charged at the men. He was only inches away from Charlotte until he felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck. Eliot grabbed the wrist and heard a crack that made the man scream out in pain. It wasn't until the syringe fell out of the man's hand did Eliot drop down to his knees and look up to Charlotte, "I will find you. I promise. These men will die in the worst way possible. They will not take you from me"

"I love you, baby. Whatever happens to me, just know that it wasn't your fault!" Charlotte screamed.

"It will be if anything does"

"Oh, please, don't go!" was the last thing that Eliot heard before everything went dark.

**POSTER! I just recently made a poster for this story, if you want to see the full thing, go to my homepage and go onto my photobucket account to see not only this story but all of my other ones too! THANK YOU FOR READING AND I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!**


	24. Escape

"Your father would've been so disappointed in you" Jose said with a shake of his head.

"Go to hell"

"Wow! Such awful words! Did you kiss your boyfriend with that mouth" Jose smirked. "When she was alive"

Charlotte sprang to her feet and charged at the wicked man only to stumble and fall back down onto the ground. Her head pounded with an agonizing pain that made her whimper slightly. She almost felt sick to her stomach just thinking about Eliot dead and alone. She looked back up to Jose and glared at the man instead of beating him into a pulp.

"He will come looking for me. You made a big mistake on taking me away from him" Charlotte threatened.

"He's a retired hitter"

"He is Eliot Spencer"

"He **was **Eliot Spencer"

"You're a liar-"

"Don't interrupt me" Jose snarled. "I'm growing impatient with you. Where is the list?"

Charlotte turned and looked back outside of the window, clenching her teeth. It was still dark outside, making her question how long they have been driving.

"You know" Charlotte said. "I was more than eager to tell you about the list. If you bring me Eliot, then I will tell you all about your stupid list"

"He would be dead by now"

"Then that's your problem" Charlotte shook her head.

Jose grabbed Charlotte's head and turned her so that she was looking at him, "You should really start to worry about your own life instead of his"

"I'm not scared of you" Charlotte said with her voice dripping with distaste. "You only have money and that won't even finish me off"

"Did you not see those men beating Eliot Spencer down to the ground?" Jose questioned. "Was that money?"

"That's what you will get once they realize that you robbed them from your money" Charlotte told him.

Jose lost his patience like a flame going out on a candle. It happened too fast as Charlotte felt a punch to the side of her face, sending her down to the ground. She looked up to the man standing over her, getting ready to hit her once again. The only thing that saved her was a knock on the door.

"What is it? Come in?" Jose whirled around. "Can't you see I'm busy? I told you not to bother me"

The man just barely looked down to Charlotte before looking back over to Jose. He seemed a little bit nervous of what he was going to say.

"We have a problem" the man began. "Our allies are not coming tonight"

"What!" Jose yelled out. "We have been waiting for years to get the list! What happened? They better have a good reason not to come"

"They all quit the group"

If Jose was old enough to have a heart attack, he could have. The look of shock actually brightened up Charlotte's night just slightly.

Jose gripped onto the sides of his temples as if trying to stop himself from beating up his worker. Instead, he just let out a couple of slow and steady breathing.

"Why?"

"They won't say"

"What do you mean by that?"

"They each gave bizarre explanations"

"Such as?"

"You tried to poison one of them, hiding the enemy and someone sending the other flowers that they are deadly allergic to"

"I don't understand"

"Neither do I, sir" the man shook his head. "What do you want us to do?"

"I'll be out in a minute" Jose said.

"It's so cold when you're out all alone" Charlotte taunted.

The men exchanged looks before Jose did a slight nod. The man closed the door and waited in the corner as Jose turned to her.

"Trust me when I tell you, you are way over your league. My friends will come and destroy you"

"I know you had something to do with this"

"I was in here the whole time"

"If you want to be a little brat than fine" Jose snarled. "I'll get down to the bottom of this"

"Don't listen to her, sir. She's just trying to distract you" the man said. "Right now, just worry about our friends"

"If you can reach out to them by now. They probably changed their aliases by now" Charlotte shrugged.

Jose let out a low growl as he stood in between the two. Charlotte could tell that he wants more than ever to ask about the list but something that his 'friends' have was more important. Charlotte leveled her eyes onto the man as she waited for his decision. He looked back over to the other man before Charlotte decided to twist with his mind even more.

"You say that you have powerful hitters on your team?" Charlotte questioned. "Think about how many they might have"

"Stay here with her. Don't let anyone else in" Jose said. "I'll come back once I find out who was the reason behind this"

"Yes, sir"

Jose quickly turned and left the room. The man then took his place over by the door and set his eyes down on Charlotte. She looked at the man and gave him her best threatening glare. He only then just gave her a smirk, almost like as if he was going to enjoy this.

Suddenly, Charlotte charged at the man, catching him by surprise. She punched him in the gut and across the face, sending him to the ground. She repeatedly kicked him to the stomach before dropping down and choking him. Charlotte counted up to 50 seconds before dropping the limp body to the ground.

"Thank you, Eliot" Charlotte whispered. "For everything. I hope you are on your way"

"Did someone hear a struggle?"

"Come on, let's check it out!"

"But what about Jose?"

"Forget his orders"

"He's only using us to wipe out Spencer" a man said from down the hall. "We did that already. We're just sitting ducks no doubt"

Without thinking, Charlotte opened the door and took off running as fast as she could. She heard a set of three pairs of feet running after her.

"Get her!" a man yelled. "Jose will have our heads for this! Hurry up! We can't let her get away"

"What would Eliot do?" Charlotte muttered under her breath as she turned down another hall and saw a double metal door. "Hopefully that's a sign"

"No! Not that door!" someone yelled.

Charlotte was already opening the door as she ran into the room. A deafening boom resounded all around her as suddenly she was lifted off of her feet. It never occurred to her that the room was set up as a trap and she had run right into it. She flew down to the ground as the heat became to unbearable but her vision had already faded to black as her body lay in the flaming room.

**POSTER! I just recently made a poster for this story, if you want to see the full thing, go to my homepage and go onto my photobucket account to see not only this story but all of my other ones too! THANK YOU FOR READING AND I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!**


	25. Rescue

"You should've killed me when you had the chance" Eliot said to the men in the hallway.

"You!" a man yelled out like as if he's just seen a ghost.

The man aimed a gun to Eliot but he grabbed it, pulled it to the side and punched the man in the face. The second man tried to punch him both times with two fists but Eliot was faster and not only blocked the shots but punched the man across the face also. The first one quickly recovered to his feet but Eliot blocked the blow just as he tried to punch the man again, he dodged under him and was tackled into the wall. Eliot gripped the man into a chokehold and delivered his knee into the man's stomach before punching him to the ground.

The second man tried to punch Eliot but he dodged out of the way easily. Before grabbed a pipe and hitting the man across the head.

Suddenly, the first man held Eliot into a chokehold of his own just as the man recovered the gun. The hitter elbowed the man in the side and flipped the first man onto the second man, before breaking one of their arms.

He elbowed the other into his nose, breaking it also. Eliot felt the floor, walls, and ceiling shook all around him just as a sonic boom erupted from the floor above him. No sooner than that, the fire alarm started to go off as men started shouting to each other to evacuate. He quickly dodged the way of traffic but instead of running to the nearest fire exit, he ran toward where the sound had erupted from.

Inside his head, he kept on praying that Charlotte was nowhere near the explosion. Even though the sound had felt so loud that his ears were still hurting, this building was alone in the night. No one was going to be at their work at four in the morning. By the time people would be arriving to their jobs this place would probably have already collapsed.

Eliot shielded his face and glared through the fiery room as he maintained his breathing. He jumped over a desk and made his way to the other side of the room. Eliot then noticed a shadowy figure lying near the other entrance of the door. When he got close enough to see who it was, he completely forgot how to breathe and started to choke.

"Charlotte!"

He ran over to the blonde heiress on the ground, picked her up, and ran out of the floor. Eliot kicked down the emergency exit and made his way back down to the floor he just came from.

"It's that man again!"

Eliot quickly kicked down a supply closet door and gently set Charlotte down in the corner. He took a split second to cup the side of her face and kiss her gently on the forehead.

"I'll come back for you" Eliot whispered into her temple before he ran back out to finish off the men who left him for dead just hours ago.

**POSTER! I just recently made a poster for this story, if you want to see the full thing, go to my homepage and go onto my photobucket account to see not only this story but all of my other ones too! THANK YOU FOR READING AND I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!**


	26. Still Fighting

Minutes later, Eliot rushed back into the room where he had left Charlotte just moments ago, "It's over, Charlotte! We can go home now"

"Let's go" Eliot was about to raise out his hand when he noticed that in the dark room, Charlotte hadn't moved from her spot. "Charlotte, wake up. You're safe now"

"Charlotte?" Eliot cupped the side of her face as his girlfriend was motionless.

Realization covered his face as he noticed that he probably was too late after all, "Oh, no"

"Oh, no" tears filled his eyes as he collapsed down next to her.

Eliot then started to do what he thought he never could do in years, weep. He pulled his girlfriend's motionless body onto his lap as he cried into her hair. Eliot gripped onto her hand and gave it a squeeze that he was sure the hold would've broken her hand. His senses started to pick up as he noticed that he wasn't the only one in the room.

"You killed her"

"She ran into the booby trap" Jose said from behind him. "She was never meant to escape that room"

Eliot placed Charlotte back into the corner and got up to face the man. His eyes were already set to kill the grifter-in-a-suit already.

"You shouldn't have taught her how to fight, Eliot. She would still be breathing right now" Jose let out a sympathetic sigh as he looked down to the young heiress. "I guess the list just died with her"

Eliot let out a war cry that made Jose jump back but he wasn't fast enough to dodge the tackle from Eliot. Fear came into his eyes as he noticed that he just set off the wrong button on the hitter.

Eliot started colliding his fists into the grifter's face, not caring about how much blood he was spilling. The last thing he was thinking about was his long line of people he murdered but he was hoping that Jose could soon join that list.

"Stop, Eliot!" Jose spat out blood.

"No, you listen! Nearly all my life I have formed the idea that the world was a dark, cruel place" Eliot gripped the color of the man's shirt. "And now you took away the one person who has proven that theory wrong"

"Eliot?" a raspy voice came from behind him.

He turned around and noticed that Charlotte's eyes were open and her arm was outreached to him, "Charlotte!"

"She lives" Jose pulled out a gun.

"No!"

Eliot picked up Charlotte bridal style and ran out of the hallway to the nearest exit. His feet skidded to a stop when he realized that the flames had engulfed the stairwell. He looked down to Charlotte and noticed that she was losing consciousness again. Eliot turned and noticed a window not far from him, without thinking, he charged at the glass and took a jump out of the burning building.

**POSTER! I just recently made a poster for this story, if you want to see the full thing, go to my homepage and go onto my photobucket account to see not only this story but all of my other ones too! THANK YOU FOR READING AND I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!**


	27. The End or Is It?

"Leaving so soon?" Jose called after them.

"This fire escape is going to collapse" Charlotte said weakly.

"Hang on!"

Eliot ran out of the way of the gun but Charlotte was right about their little safety. The iron was creaking and snapping under his feet.

He turned around and looked over to Jose who was making an unfortunate mistake. The grifter was climbing back out of the window to join them. Eliot felt Charlotte tuck her head under his neck as the man started charging after them. He quickly dodged out of the way and gripped his hold tighter onto Charlotte, refusing to let her go.

But he didn't know how to defend both of them with Charlotte occupying his hands. He looked back down to Charlotte who seemed to have been thinking the same thing. She did her best to smile at him and nod in understanding. A big bang erupted and they both noticed how just standing there, the iron was already giving way.

Eliot quickly ushered Charlotte back inside the building before charging at Jose. Charlotte gasped but then instantly regretted it as she started coughing up a storm. She staggered back over to the window sill and looked back out onto the clearing to see the men fighting. She wanted to find a way to help them but she was afraid of being Eliot's distraction.

"Falling in love has made you weak" Jose chuckled.

"You're wrong" Eliot denied.

"It's only cost you your life" Jose snarled as he charged over to Eliot, sending them both off of the ledge.

"Whoa!"

"Whoa! Oh!"

Charlotte quickly jumped back out of the window, ignored the creaking sounds, and grabbed onto Eliot's wrist. He groaned as the harder he held onto the iron bar, the more blood was dripping out. Charlotte silently cursed herself as she tried to pick him up but was still too weak from being knocked unconscious. She looked down to Eliot and noticed that his grip on her was also failing.

She suddenly watched as Jose let out a terrifying scream and plummeted to the ground. Charlotte whimpered and closed her eyes as she tried to block out the image of Jose splattered on the concrete floor. Her palms began to sweat as her neck burned him the heat, she couldn't hold on much longer. Eliot's strength was more than just failing, he was also losing consciousness.

The iron creaked from her weight and snapped as it restricted her from breathing. The more she pulled the more it felt like Eliot was slipping away. His piercing blue eyes final gazed up to her in an almost apologetic way. Tears sprung her eyes as she realized what he was planning on doing and shook her head.

His hand slipped as this time he was letting go. Charlotte tried to battle his weight as she tried pulling him up.

"Hold on. Hold on" Charlotte then started to panic. "Eliot! Baby! No!"

Charlotte's grip finally gaze way as his hand fell from her grasp. She let out a terrifying scream as she watched the man she loved plummet to his death. That's it. That was the heroic end of Eliot Spencer.

"Just where you think you're going" Hardison grunted.

At the last second, Parker and Hardison leaned over the edge and grabbed onto Eliot's falling body. They both slowly brought their friend back onto the iron surface. Charlotte beamed from ear to ear as she realized who had saved the hitter. She quickly turned over to the ladder and started running down the small flight of stairs to the trio.

Eliot slowly recovered himself as he looked up and noticed the petite blonde and her boyfriend looming over him. His heart seemed to pick up speed again as he realized he got a second chance at life once again.

He picked himself up and hugged the two in a tight bear hug that caught them both by surprise. Hardison and Parker smiled as they both hugged their big brother back.

Rattling started to come closer and closer to their level until suddenly it stopped. Eliot looked over and noticed that Charlotte was smiling at the little reunion. Parker slowly got up and hugged the heiress in a tight hug as a few tears fell from her eyes. When they broke the hug, Eliot and Hardison were already standing.

Charlotte ran over to Eliot, cupped his face and kissed him passionately on the lips. Eliot smiled as he gripped her tight around the waist and held her close. Tears started to sting his eyes as he realized that just in this night alone, he almost lost her several times. Now, everything seemed to be back to how they belong.

45 minutes later, nearly every single fire truck was on sight trying to extinguish the flames. No one really knew what happened in the building but the leverage team knew that people would start to piece it together. After all, there was plenty of bombing evidence in there to wield that it was a horrible threat gone wrong. "Thankfully" no one was hurt except for the man who had fallen from the fire escape.

Parker and Charlotte leaned in onto their respective men as they watched the firemen clean up the mess. Charlotte took in a sigh of relief as she realized that the mark on her back was all over. No one was going to come after her. Not anytime soon.

"So what now?" Charlotte suddenly asked.

"We go back to our normal lives" Eliot said. "Well, as normal as they once were. You will go back to your life as one day continue your mom's business"

"I don't think we should let her go that easily" Hardison smiled.

"We stole the list from Minnesota and confirmed it in North Carolina" Parker chirped in. "We will need a grifter for this job. I don't think you would want her to go so easily, right, Eliot? She doesn't need to be in an office her whole life. She deserves a spot on our team"

Charlotte smiled to Hardison and Parker almost like as if they were her parents presenting a gift she's always wanted. Did they really mean that? She turned to Eliot who only shrugged and nodded to her in the most careless way. She wasn't going anyway but staying as the new grifter on the Leverage Team.

"So when do we start?" Charlotte asked.

**POSTER! I just recently made a poster for this story, if you want to see the full thing, go to my homepage and go onto my photobucket account to see not only this story but all of my other ones too! THANK YOU FOR READING AND I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!**


	28. Soundtrack

_**Time is Running Out- Muse**_

_**Coming to Terms- Carolina Liar**_

_**Spotlight- Mutemath**_

_**Bitter Sweet Symphony- The Verve**_

_**Open Your Eyes- Snow Patrol**_

_**Like a Stone- Audioslave**_

_**Mr. Brightside- The Killers**_

_**Jenny Was a Friend of Mine- The Killers**_

_**Smile Like You Mean It- The Killers**_


End file.
